KARACHI, Nov 7: There is an acute need for anti-snake venom in the public-sector hospitals of the city because the number of snake-bite cases are on the rise.

According to a spokesman for the Edhi Foundation, in recent weeks his charity has had to provide anti-snake venom to almost all the public hospitals in the city. The people who were bitten, he said, mostly hailed from Thatta, Hyderabad and outskirts of Karachi.

He said that anti-snake venom was produced in Islamabad at a cost of Rs600 per vial. In the local shops, one vial was sold for up to Rs2,000. The Edhi Foundation got it on nominal rates.

The spokesman said that the foundation provided the antidote on a request made by a hospital to the needy people on low rates.

He cited the example of 22-year-old Zarina who was bitten by a cobra while she was looking for wood in Hawkesbay. Zarina was taken immediately to the Ward No 4 of the Civil Hospital Karachi.

The doctors immediately got in touch with the Edhi Foundation and requested it to provide the antidote.

The doctors, in the meantime, collected some money from the hospital staff which was paid to the Edhi Foundation for the venom, he said.

Due to the generosity of the doctors and timely provision of antidote by the Edhi Foundation, the life of Zarina, who belongs to an impoverished family, was ultimately saved. At one point in time, Zarina was bleeding profusely from her nose and mouth and doctors were getting very anxious.

Confirming Zarina's story, Rizwan Edhi told Dawn that Mrs Bilquis Edhi was instrumental in providing the anti- snake venom in time, thereby making it possible for the doctors to save a precious life.

He was of the view that the arrangement between the Edhi Foundation and the federal health ministry under which anti-snake venom was provided on nominal rates should continue so that many more lives could be saved.

Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Edhi Foundation told Dawn that the donors should make it a point that they got a duplicate receipt in addition to the original one in order to ensure that their donated money was utilized properly. The duplicate receipt should be put in an envelop and posted to the headquarters of the Edhi Foundation.

The donors may also call the foundation's head offices at phone number 242-1920, and inform the volunteers of their donation. The donors, at the time of donation, should sign the receipt book and a register.