A Fanged Crisis.

VENOM glands; IMMUNOGLOBULINS; ADRENALINE; COBRAS; POISONS; POISONOUS snakes; POOR communities

SPECIAL REPORT Inside a two-story brick building, not far from the orchids and iguanas of the botanical garden in Medellín, Colombia, wildlife technician Jorge Asprilla demonstrates how to extract venom from a snake. But Kalana Maduwage, a physician and antivenom researcher who was part of the project, says that data showed just a single vial of the antivenom can neutralize hump-nosed viper bites. And although Colombia has the ability to produce and distribute antivenom - the antidote for venomous snakebites - about 20 percent of the victims who need antivenom don't receive it. Once there, however, the country's snakebite management guidelines advise physicians to wait for a patient to develop signs of systemic envenoming, such as bleeding or kidney failure, to avoid causing unnecessary side effects in case the snake was not venomous or didn't release any venom. [Extracted from the article]