Kenya will soon be able to locally produce snake anti-venom to address the issue of snake bites in the country.
This is after the Health CS Susan Nakhumicha inaugurated the Kenya Institute of Primate Research (KIPRE) Board of Directors on Tuesday.
KIPRE, formerly known as the Institute of Primate Research (IPR), has been a pioneering institution in biomedical research since its establishment in 1958.
It operates under the Ministry of Health's State Department for Public Health and Professional Standards.
The institution has a long history of conducting vital research to develop drugs and vaccines for humans.
Anti-venom is a medicine that is given to stop snake venom from binding to tissues and causing serious blood, tissue, or nervous system problems.
“KIPRE has already produced reproductive health products to improve sexual/reproductive health as well as maternal and child health. This will go a long way in reducing the cost of healthcare in the country,” Nakhumicha said.
“The institute is expected to produce locally based snake anti-venom to address the issue of snakebite that is a major problem in the East African Region and Africa as a whole.”
The Institution was chosen by the African Union One Health for the preparation of emerging diseases and pathogens.
The CS further directed the institution’s management to move with speed and hire the right personnel for the right positions to achieve its mandate.
The transition from IPR to KIPRE was initiated through legal notice Number 273 of 2017, and the subsequent executive order number 1 of 2023 which placed KIPRE under the Ministry of Health.
This move underscores the government's commitment to building domestic capacity critical step in ensuring Kenya's healthcare security, emphasising Key UHC pillars of Health products and technologies as well as human health capacity for health.
Snakebite incidents are on the World Health Organization's list of neglected tropical diseases.
They are a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in most parts of the world.
Snakebites are neglected in Kenya. This is because there is low awareness of snakebites as a public health problem in the country.
Few studies have been carried out to evaluate the magnitude of the problem of snakebites in Kenya.
Incidents of snakebites have been reported in Western, Baringo, Laikipia, Kilifi and Malindi as well as Northern Kenya.
Globally, the WHO estimates that between 81,000 and 138,000 people die each year after being bitten by a snake, while 400,000 are left disabled.
Puff adders, black spitting cobras, black mambas and boomslangs have been reported to be behind a majority of the snakebites in Kenya.
