Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Monday said the government has a plan to manufacture anti-venom serum locally as the lives of people could be saved from snake biting.
"We usually use anti-venom serum for providing lifesaving treatment of snakebites and the government is planning to manufacture this particular type of injection in Chittagong," he said.
The minister said this while responding to a query made by Quazi Feroz Rashid of Dhaka-6 in the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) on Monday afternoon.
File photo shows Health Minister Zahid Maleque addressing a seminar at the Mugda Medical College Hospital in Dhaka PIDAt present, the government is importing such types of sterile medicines from abroad and steps have been taken to reach these medicines at all upazilas and districts throughout the country, he observed.
However, there is still a shortage of experienced health workers to use this particular type of medicine effectively, he said, adding: "It will take time and we are preparing trained people to this end."
Snakebite causes over 6,000 deaths and some 700,000 people get bitten by snakes annually in Bangladesh, said the minister.