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Sri Lanka has one of the highest snakebite rates in the world. An island-wide survey estimated more than 80,000 bites and about 400 deaths in a single year, Al Jazeera reported. So, when a WhatsApp message promised that one call to 108 would bring an ambulance with antivenom to your doorstep, it travelled fast. The message was written for India, not Sri Lanka, and following it could waste precious minutes. Here is the message that carried out the claim.
Social Media Posts:
The message circulated on WhatsApp with a photo of an antivenom box and vial, and notes in English and Sinhala.
The English note claimed that the injection in the photo was available through the 108-ambulance service and told anyone bitten by a snake to call 108. It said the ambulance would come to the victim’s home and give the required injection or first aid. It also urged readers to share the information with all groups, as it could save a life in an emergency.
The Sinhala note added that a snakebite victim should call 108 to alert the ambulance, which said carried the injection.
The message went viral alongside a photo of a Snake Venom Antiserum as seen here as well.
Following requests from readers, we checked whether the claim was true.
Fact-Check:
Sri Lanka’s Official Emergency Ambulance Number Is 1990, Not 108
The advice to call 108 does not apply to Sri Lanka at all, because 108 is not a main or official emergency number here. Sri Lanka’s official emergency ambulance service is 1990 Suwa Seriya, and its official website lists 1990 as the number to call for an emergency ambulance. It is a pre-hospital emergency care service. Nowhere does the 1990 Suwa Seriya website say that its ambulances carry snake antivenom or give it to patients at home.
1990 Suwa Seriya was launched in 2016 in the Western and Southern Provinces with Indian grant assistance and was later expanded island-wide, according to the High Commission of India in Colombo. Calls to 1990 are toll-free from any network in Sri Lanka.
108 Is an Emergency Ambulance Number in India
Our further checks confirmed that 108 is the emergency ambulance number in several Indian states. In Maharashtra, the 108 service runs under the state’s emergency medical services and covers medical emergencies including snakebites, as the Maharashtra Public Health Department states on its official website. More details here.
Indian media reports show that the same 108 message also spread on social media in India. Quoting Indian health authorities, those reports said claims that calling 108 would bring antivenom to your home were false. They said the ambulance service’s role in a snakebite was to give the patient quick first aid and take them to hospital for treatment. Details here.
Suwa Seriya Confirms It Does Not Give Antivenom at Home
Although 108 is not Sri Lanka’s ambulance number, we asked the Suwa Seriya ambulance service whether 1990 gives such treatment after a snakebite. A spokeswoman said that when an animal bite leads to an emergency, an ambulance is sent to the location. For any patient, the crew goes to the scene, examines the patient, and contacts a doctor before deciding the next steps. She said the service does not give any injection of the kind described on social media.
The Antivenom in the Photo Is an Indian Product Meant for Hospital Use
The box and vial in the photo carry the name and logo of VINS Bioproducts Limited, and the product is made in India. Medicines of this kind contain antibody fragments raised against snake venom. They bind to venom components in the blood and help neutralize their toxic effects. The medicine is used to control serious venom effects such as blood clotting problems and paralysis after a snakebite. It is used to treat envenoming by venomous snakes common in Sri Lanka, such as the cobra, Russell’s viper, and krait.
It does not work against every venomous snake in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka Medical Association’s snakebite management guidelines say Indian polyvalent antivenom is limited to certain snake venoms. For example, giving antivenom after a hump-nosed pit viper bite is of no benefit.
The medicine is given into a vein and carries a risk of allergic reactions, so it is a potent drug that must be given in hospital and only under medical supervision. The SLMA guidelines also say it must be given under medical supervision. Some people develop severe allergic reactions after receiving it, so it must be given where staff that can recognize and treat these reactions immediately. Not every snakebite patient needs antivenom either. The doctor decides, based on symptoms and clinical tests.
SLMA Snakebite Expert Says No Home Antivenom System Exists in Sri Lanka
We also asked Dr. Namal Rathnayake, Secretary of the Sri Lanka Medical Association’s Expert Committee on Snakebite and Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, about the WhatsApp message. He said Sri Lanka has no system in which an ambulance comes to a home to give antivenom after a snakebite. He stressed that because allergic reactions can occur, snakebite patients must be treated under medical supervision, and that approval currently exists only for treatment in hospitals.
We also asked him about the Snake Venom Antiserum I.P. shown in the message. He said it is given only for the venom of four snake species and must always be given inside a hospital. He added that a snakebite victim should be taken straight to the nearest hospital for treatment.
Why Antivenom Can Only Be Given Safely in Hospital
The SLMA’s national guidelines show how real the risk is. They cite studies in which up to 81% of patients who received Indian polyvalent antivenom had a reaction, and up to 43% had a severe one (SLMA guidelines).
For this reason, the guidelines advise doctors to give a small dose of adrenaline under the skin shortly before the first antivenom infusion, and to be ready to treat anaphylaxis, a severe and sudden allergic reaction, at once. They also say every snakebite patient should be admitted to hospital for assessment and observation, and that doctors should use the bedside 20-minute whole blood clotting test to judge whether venom has affected the blood and whether antivenom is working. None of this can be done safely in a patient’s home.
Antivenom also covers only some species. The guidelines recommend it for systemic envenoming by the cobra, Russell’s viper, common krait, and saw-scaled viper, which matches the four species Dr. Rathnayake referred to. They say it gives no benefit for bites by the hump-nosed pit viper, the green pit viper or sea snakes. The hump-nosed pit viper is a common cause of bites in Sri Lanka, and imported antivenom does not cover it, Al Jazeera reported.
What To Do First After a Snakebite
A news report quoting Prof. Kolitha Sellahewa, a specialist at Dr. Neville Fernando Hospital in Malabe, said that after a snakebite you should not wash the wound, suck out the venom, cut it, tie it tightly or apply home remedies. The medical advice is to take the patient straight to the nearest hospital.
The report added that trained specialists decide on treatment based on the patient’s symptoms, so there is no need to catch or bring the snake. It also said hospitals hold the antivenom needed to treat any venomous snakebite, so there is no reason to panic.
The Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health has also stressed that complete immobilization of the bitten part is essential, and that tourniquets and cutting the wound can make the effects of the venom worse (Weekly Epidemiological Report). Keep the victim calm and lying still, remove rings, bangles, or watches from the bitten limb before it swells, and call 1990 or go straight to the nearest hospital.
The SLMA Expert Committee on Snakebite advises on preventing snakebites, managing treatment, and raising public awareness. Its Secretary, Dr. Namal Rathnayake, joined a television interview in which he explained the committee’s role, how to care for a patient after a snakebite and the myths about snakebites that persist in society. The video is below.
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Conclusion:
Our fact-check found the WhatsApp claim false. It said that calling 108 after a snakebite would bring an ambulance that gives Snake Venom Antiserum I.P. to the patient’s home.
Sri Lanka’s island-wide emergency ambulance service is 1990 Suwa Seriya, while 108 is used by emergency ambulance services in several parts of India. Suwa Seriya does respond to snakebite emergencies, but a spokeswoman confirmed that it does not come to a patient’s home to give antivenom.
Dr. Namal Rathnayake of the SLMA Expert Committee on Snakebite and the SLMA’s national guidelines both say a snakebite patient needs prompt hospital treatment. Antivenom carries a substantial risk of allergic reactions and should be given only after a doctor assesses the patient in a hospital with proper medical supervision. After a bite, keep the victim calm and still, and call 1990 or go to the nearest hospital without delay.
