Pilipinas, walang sapat na pondo para sa paggawa ng antivenom? | I-Witness - video Dailymotion

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Mataas ang bilang ng namamatay na Pilipino dahil sa kagat ng cobra. Wala raw kasing sapat na pondo para sa research at paggawa ng antivenom.   Dahil dito, maraming Pilipino—lalo na ang mga magsasaka—ang napipilitang umasa sa alternatibong lunas, na maaaring hindi ligtas o epektibo.

Transcript

00:00Marvin Sarmiento is a wildlife biologist.

00:04He has been bitten by a snake several times

00:07and his grandmother was killed by a snake bite.

00:12My grandmother died from a snake bite when I was in grade 5.

00:16So I personally fought against it.

00:1925 years passed.

00:22I didn't know the world of bio.

00:24Until I was asked why my grandmother died from a snake bite.

00:30I pushed her to grow up.

00:32I became a biologist.

00:34It's frustrating.

00:36Because I have seen a lot of patients

00:39who just die and have a chance to live.

00:42It's just a case.

00:43There's no antivenom.

00:48Since then, Marvin has made it his personal mission

00:52to spread antivenom in the Philippines.

00:55The problem is,

00:56it's not in the priority of the government

00:59to fund the research and production of antivenom.

01:05So, is it correct for me to understand that

01:07we are the most powerful cobra

01:12and we don't fund the research

01:15to fight against its venom?

01:18Yes.

01:19If there's something lacking,

01:21it can start, but it won't end.

01:25So, when you go to the hospital,

01:27what are the chances that you will find antivenom there?

01:32The distribution of antivenom is already very far.

01:34The distribution of antivenom in the Philippines is here in the cities.

01:38But your snake bite happens in the outskirts of the provinces.

01:44We tried to get a copy

01:46of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine or RITM,

01:49the agency that is in charge of the production of antivenom,

01:53but they were not able to launch an interview.

01:56I consider snake bite as a disease of the poor.

01:59Because if the rich are affected by it,

02:02or the politicians are affected by it,

02:06maybe there's a chance that our antivenom production will improve.

02:11In the entire antivenom industry, we are the only ones left behind.

02:16Because there is a lack of antivenom in the Philippines,

02:19the farmers are relying on different methods.

02:26When Gilbert Mortil was bitten by a cobra,

02:28he tied his hands,

02:30and then he squeezed the blood.

02:32It was thought that he would be able to remove the parasite.

02:36I didn't expect that.

02:38I thought it was prohibited because my pen was damaged.

02:43The venom spread faster than here.

02:50Because of this, the venom spread faster to his body.

02:55But instead of going to the hospital,

02:57he went here.

03:03Good morning.

03:04Good morning.

03:05How are you?

03:06How are you taking your medicine?

03:09I'm fine.

03:10Sometimes, when you are bitten by a cobra,

03:15you also take your medicine.

03:17What do you do to take your medicine?

03:20I tie a 10-pack of pusporo.

03:25Then, I do this.

03:29Then, I apply it to the wound.

03:34Then, you burn the wound?

03:37Yes, I burn the wound.

03:40Then, the parasite will disappear?

03:42Yes, it will die.

03:44Gilbert's condition is getting worse.

03:48The male doctors ran away.

03:51They made me lie down on the bed.

03:54But my body is paralyzed.

03:59Fortunately, an ambulance arrived

04:01and they were able to find an antivenom in Karatingbayan.

04:08According to the Philippine Toxinology Society,

04:11in 2022,

04:12almost 6,000 cobras were caught in the Philippines.

04:17Of these, more than 3,000 died.

04:24But why are there people who are saved from being bitten by a cobra

04:29and there are people who die?

04:32It depends on the amount of venom that entered your body.

04:37If the cobra's venom is insufficient,

04:39it is less likely that the parasite will be transmitted.

04:45So, if the cobra's venom is not complete,

04:49it will have less venom?

04:51They are not capable to deliver the venom.

04:53Okay.

04:54The venom is through injecting

04:56using the hypodermic needle of their fangs.

04:59So, if those two fangs are infected,

05:02they are not capable to deliver the venom.

05:05The first aid is also important

05:08when you are bitten by a cobra.

05:11Based on experience in our fieldwork,

05:14if the bite site is here,

05:15we start here.

05:17Here?

05:18Is it tied?

05:19It is not tied.

05:20It is an elastic bandage.

05:22Ah.

05:23Okay.

05:24Because the venom doesn't flow on the bloodstream.

05:26It flows on the lymphatic system.

05:28Yes.

05:29So, even if you bleed it out,

05:30the venom won't be lost.

05:33So, the bloodstream has no effect?

05:36No.

05:37The bite?

05:38No.

05:39Envenomation can still cause

05:41to the person who bit the venom.

Pilipinas, walang sapat na pondo para sa paggawa ng antivenom? | I-Witness

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