Venomous snake bites are one common disease related to public health in the tropical and subtropical areas on the earth. According to the statistics compiled by WHO, there are approximately 3 million people worldwide bitten by snakes every year and about 100,000 of them die from snake bites. Approximately 450,000 people will have sequelae such as mutilation, damage, and deformation after treatment. There are often different kinds of venomous snakes existing in each region while the bites will lead to various toxic symptoms, which are generally divided into clinical symptoms, including: neuropathic, hemorrhagic, muscle injury, or hybrid. Starting from the hospital ER, the doctor would diagnose the of venomous snake bites based on the characteristics shown on the patients, followed by administering snake antivenins as treatment. Naturally, if the patient kills the snake and brings it to the hospital, the doctor can diagnose quicker and administer the fastest treatment. Such diagnosis approach is known as syndromic diagnosis, as the doctor can determine the type of biting snakes after the classic symptoms appear, therefo.re administering antivenins with more specificity. However, by this time, it could be too “late” and the symptoms of the patients could be very serious. For this reason, some regions or countries produce the so-called “multivalent” antivenin to cope with such situations. The “antivenins for Trimeresurus stejnegeri and Daboia siamensis” produced by Taiwan are such examples.  

For early diagnosis and early administration of correct serum, we have invented the quick-test diagnosis film (see image) ¹ just like the pregnancy test film. You can drop the serum of the patient on the specimen pool (S) and verify the type of snake in few minutes. The red line on T indicates positive, meaning the limb redness and welling caused by Naja Atra. C is the control line and this line must appear for each test to indicate that this test agent is still active. If the patient is bitten by unknown venomous snakes in wildness, home kitchen, or even in bed, use this diagnosis film for doctors to assist with the diagnosis and even identify as bites by Naja Atra, so we could quickly inject the correct antivenin. This diagnosis film can also be used to trace the changes in the local injury and conditions of patients, so that doctors can be reminded for further treatment. Currently, this diagnosis test agent is expanded eventually for scope of application and increased types of snakes for diagnosis. Our intention is to use one drop of patient’s serum to help the doctor determine which type of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan bites the patient. This diagnosis film has been tested in Vietnam, and the identification and diagnosis capacities are excellent. Since the product has not been commercialized, if you were bitten by a venomous snake, please use the right product for identification of snake type. You may be transferred to our ER or conduct us directly (CMUH Emergency Room or Division of Toxicology).