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Officials: Snake anti-venin running out
TAMPA, Fla., (UPI) -- The only U.S. manufacturer of anti-venin for coral snake bites has stopped making it and existing stocks will expire in October, officials say.
A national average of 100 coral snake bites per year means so little of the anti-venin, also called anti-venom, is needed it isn't profitable for drug companies to test and manufacture it, The (Tampa, Fla.) Tribune reported.
Left untreated, a coral snake bite victim can die as the venom shuts down his lungs, the newspaper said.
The Food and Drug Administration will test the existing stocks in October and could give permission for an additional year of use.
"We believe it is likely that the existing (anti-venin) lot will be extended for another year.'' Cynthia Lewis-Younger, medical director of the Florida Poison Information Center said, "However, at some point, probably next year, we will have exhausted all that anti-venin.''
Researchers are working on three possible alternatives, Lewis-Younger said, but the FDA has approved none of them.
TAMPA, Fla., (UPI) -- The only U.S. manufacturer of anti-venin for coral snake bites has stopped making it and existing stocks will expire in October, officials say.
A national average of 100 coral snake bites per year means so little of the anti-venin, also called anti-venom, is needed it isn't profitable for drug companies to test and manufacture it, The (Tampa, Fla.) Tribune reported.
Left untreated, a coral snake bite victim can die as the venom shuts down his lungs, the newspaper said.
The Food and Drug Administration will test the existing stocks in October and could give permission for an additional year of use.
"We believe it is likely that the existing (anti-venin) lot will be extended for another year.'' Cynthia Lewis-Younger, medical director of the Florida Poison Information Center said, "However, at some point, probably next year, we will have exhausted all that anti-venin.''
Researchers are working on three possible alternatives, Lewis-Younger said, but the FDA has approved none of them.