JOIN USMonkey bite medicine can burn a hole in your pocket
If you are bitten by a monkey, you may have to shell out huge sum on buying serum from private pharmacists as the drug is in not available with every hospital in the city.
Saurav Sharma, 30, was sitting on his two-wheeler at Patel Chowk area when a bunch of monkeys attacked him last week.
“Two monkeys charged towards me and bit my leg. I thought they were after my cell phone as I was talking over the phone. I even threw my mobile away in order to distract them, but it didn’t work. They chewed it and continued the assault,” the private firm’s employee recalled.
Three more monkeys joined the attack, and bit him on his arms and legs.
“To save myself, I ran to a crowded place. After seeing other people the monkeys didn’t chase me,” he told Deccan Herald.
Now he is getting treated at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. But he has to buy serum derived from human plasma from a private pharmacist as the drug is not available in every hospital. The quantity of the serum is proportionate to the body weight of the patient.
“My weight is 65 kg and I required five shots. I had to buy it from a private chemist as the drug was not available with the hospital. It cost me around Rs 25,000 as it is imported from Germany,” he said.
According to a doctor at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, the serum derived from human plasma is not required frequently.
“Only one in 100 cases requires serum derived from human plasma. In rest of the cases serum derived from animal plasma works and it is available free of cost at hospitals,” the doctor treating the patient told Deccan Herald.
New Delhi Municipal Council officers said they have hired around 40 monkey catchers to get hold of the monkeys and send them to a sanctuary.
“We have employed these people to catch monkeys and then send them to Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary. But catching one or two monkeys daily is not the solution. So we are meeting Forest Department officials to discuss ways to control their population,” said O P Mishra, director NDMC.
According to North Delhi Municipal Corporation spokesperson, around 80 cases of monkey bites have been reported in the areas which fall under the jurisdiction of North Corporation so far this year. “Over 550 monkeys have been captured from the limits of North Corporation area during April 2012 to July 2013,” he added.
Around 200 monkeys have been captured in the East Delhi Municipal Corporation area during April 2012 to July 2013, said an EDMC spokesperson.