FREE CHINA JOURNAL (Taipei, Taiwan) 03 March 06 Snake Serum Center gears up as snakes end winter hibernation (June Tsai)
With climatic zones ranging from tropical to temperate, Taiwan is home to several kinds of poisonous snakes. Around 300 people are bitten by them each year, and their survival depends on timely treatment with antivenin, developed by the nation's biochemists.
Located in Taipei City's Nangang District, the Snake Serum Production Center of Taiwan's Department of Health produces antivenin whose high quality is recognized worldwide. Research organizations, conservation societies, zoos and rescue teams from the United States, Germany and Italy regularly place orders with the center.
While the center was established in 1968, antivenin research and development (R&D) in Taiwan has a much longer history, having begun when Taiwan was under Japanese rule (1895-1945), said center director Liu Ting-ping in a telephone interview. As the production process requires an adequate supply of venom, one of the center's fundamental activities is to raise poisonous snakes.
Out and about during the warm months between March and October, the island's venomous snakes include the pointed-scaled pit viper, Taiwan bamboo viper, Taiwan banded krait, hundred pacer, Russell's viper and Taiwan cobra. Except for the bamboo viper, they are all endangered species and protected by law. Therefore, catching them is strictly monitored by the Council of Agriculture.
Around 70 snakes are currently kept at the center's laboratory. These dangerous but life-saving creatures have their own identification numbers and live in a comfortable, air-conditioned habitat, said a center veterinarian with nine years of experience in dealing with them. Although taking the snakes' point of view, they have been forced to sacrifice their freedom and natural way of life, there is at least the consolation, according to the vet, that they generally can live longer in their artificial environment than in the wilds.
Antivenin production is a long and arduous process. First, venom is carefully "milked" from the snakes. The venom is diluted and injected into horses to induce their production of antibodies, and blood taken from the horses undergoes highly complex, exacting processing to extract antibody-containing serum for human use.
Finally, each batch of antivenin must undergo testing and certification by the nation's Bureau of Food and Drug Analysis.
The production of these life-saving pharmaceuticals is possible only by virtue of long decades of R&D and the dedication of people gain satisfaction from doing highly demanding work with no thought for receiving public recognition, said Liu.
Snake Serum Center gears up as snakes end winter hibernation

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