UniJos researchers’ snakebite treatment raises hope for Plateau residents

Snake bite, said to be common amongst farmers and many other outdoor workers in Plateau and neighbouring states, has resulted in high morbidity and mortality. But the recent production of a new anti-snake vaccine, COVIP-Plus, by a team of researchers in the University of Jos, has to some extent brought succor to the local people. […]

Snake bite, said to be common amongst farmers and many other outdoor workers in Plateau and neighbouring states, has resulted in high morbidity and mortality.

But the recent production of a new anti-snake vaccine, COVIP-Plus, by a team of researchers in the University of Jos, has to some extent brought succor to the local people. The new vaccine provides immunity to snake venom.

Snakebite incidents happen mostly in the southern part of Plateau State which is usually hot and hosts different species of snakes that often wander into homes apart from farms looking for prey and wreaking havoc on people and animals.

Investigations in recent times have reportedly ranked Plateau among states with the highest rate of snakebite incidents.

The pronouncement, recently, by the Vice Chancellor, University of Jos, Professor Sebastian Maimako, of the breakthrough in the vaccine production is therefore cause for happiness and gratitude for hundreds of people in local communities. The reason is because many people are at the risk of dying from snake bite because they do not have access to expensive but scarce anti-venom medication.

Researchers said one major difference between the new vaccine and other snake venom treatment methods is that it has no side effect on the victim of the snake bite. Also, while other treatments are mainly to provide cure after the snake bite, from which some victims do not recover, the new vaccine provides immunity.

People living in areas with a record high number of snake bites in the state said the vaccine will save lives and improve productivity.

Daniel Sati Tanko, from Amper community in Kanke Local Government Area of the state said snakebite cases are rampant in his area and that one of his relatives, Cyona, bitten by a snake recently and treated at an anti-snake bite centre was lucky to have survived, as others had not been that lucky.

Tanko said the vaccine produced by the university was a milestone healthcare service because it will help affected communities to overcome the snakebite menace. He said the vaccine, apart from saving lives, will bring down the cost of treatment.

He said the vaccine will certainly bring succour to people in rural communities and called on health authorities to liaise with the university in order to make the vaccine affordable and accessible, particularly during the farming season when snakebites are more rampant.

According to him, many people who could not afford snakebite treatment resorted to traditional treatment which is not always as reliable as it should be.

In her own view, Sandra Manko Bingip, said the vaccine development is one of the greatest news she has heard in recent times.

Bingip, a native of Kunkwang community of Langtang North LGA, said people migrate from time to time to other communities including Jos, the state capital, during the hot season to avoid snake bite incidents.

She said a man from her community and an officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) was recently bitten by a snake and almost lost his life.

She expressed concern over how things are done in Nigerian whereby something good will begin but it would not be sustained as it gets hijacked or abandoned.

Bingip urged the management of the university and the government to ensure that health facilities in the rural communities are provided with the newly formulated vaccine, rather than dump it where there are little or no incidences of snakebites.

A graduating student of Mass Communication in the university, from the southern part of the state, Dinchi Dombin, said the achievement recorded by the researchers is a welcome development that will go a long way in restoring hope in the people over snakebite menace.

Dombin said the rampant cases of snakebite were alarming, adding that a female relative of hers, Nimbyen Benjamin Dadi, was also a victim of snake bite.

She said many farmers are living in fear of poisonous snakes and called on government to take necessary measures in combating the menace including public awareness on environmental sanitation in addition to mass immunization.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Qua’an-Pan LGA, Hon Isaac Kwallu, has expressed willingness to establish a centre for the procurement of the vaccine, especially where people are vulnerable to snakebite.

He was speaking during a free medical outreach and free surgery organized by the local government council from which about 5,000 residents of the LGA benefited.

He said many people have died from preventable snake bites, adding that he has taken measures to tackle the menace, alongside other occurrences threatening the lives and well-being of the people.

The landmark stride by the university is a great achievement and a step in the right direction, Kwallu added.

Reacting, Dr Fabong Gemchang, Director General, Plateau State Health Insurance Scheme and Head, Department of Accident and Emergency Unit, Plateau Specialist Hospital, said the university worked with commitment to produce the vaccine.

He said the medicine will eventually address the anti-snake bite treatment needs of not only the people of the state but the nation as well as the international community.

He said government should develop the political will to genuinely key into the project so that the vaccine can be massively produced and made available for the masses.

The medical officer said government must also immediately ensure the prohibition of the importation of anti-snake venom so that locally produced products including the new vaccine can reach people at the grassroots.

It will be recalled that Unijos VC, Prof Maimako, had at a press conference on the vaccine, said it was the first of its kind in the world, and that it was developed after 24 years of intensive research studies by the team at the African Centre of Excellence in Phytomedicine Research Development (ACEPRD) in the University of Jos.