00:00Marvin Sarmiento is a wildlife biologist.
00:04He has been bitten by a snake several times
00:07and his grandmother was killed by a snake bite.
00:12My grandmother died from a snake bite when I was in grade 5.
00:16So I personally fought against it.
00:1925 years passed.
00:22I didn't know the world of bio.
00:24Until I was asked why my grandmother died from a snake bite.
00:30I pushed her to grow up.
00:32I became a biologist.
00:34It's frustrating.
00:36Because I have seen a lot of patients
00:39who just die and have a chance to live.
00:42It's just a case.
00:43There's no antivenom.
00:48Since then, Marvin has made it his personal mission
00:52to spread antivenom in the Philippines.
00:55The problem is,
00:56it's not in the priority of the government
00:59to fund the research and production of antivenom.
01:05So, is it correct for me to understand that
01:07we are the most powerful cobra
01:12and we don't fund the research
01:15to fight against its venom?
01:18Yes.
01:19If there's something lacking,
01:21it can start, but it won't end.
01:25So, when you go to the hospital,
01:27what are the chances that you will find antivenom there?
01:32The distribution of antivenom is already very far.
01:34The distribution of antivenom in the Philippines is here in the cities.
01:38But your snake bite happens in the outskirts of the provinces.
01:44We tried to get a copy
01:46of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine or RITM,
01:49the agency that is in charge of the production of antivenom,
01:53but they were not able to launch an interview.
01:56I consider snake bite as a disease of the poor.
01:59Because if the rich are affected by it,
02:02or the politicians are affected by it,
02:06maybe there's a chance that our antivenom production will improve.
02:11In the entire antivenom industry, we are the only ones left behind.
02:16Because there is a lack of antivenom in the Philippines,
02:19the farmers are relying on different methods.
02:26When Gilbert Mortil was bitten by a cobra,
02:28he tied his hands,
02:30and then he squeezed the blood.
02:32It was thought that he would be able to remove the parasite.
02:36I didn't expect that.
02:38I thought it was prohibited because my pen was damaged.
02:43The venom spread faster than here.
02:50Because of this, the venom spread faster to his body.
02:55But instead of going to the hospital,
02:57he went here.
03:03Good morning.
03:04Good morning.
03:05How are you?
03:06How are you taking your medicine?
03:09I'm fine.
03:10Sometimes, when you are bitten by a cobra,
03:15you also take your medicine.
03:17What do you do to take your medicine?
03:20I tie a 10-pack of pusporo.
03:25Then, I do this.
03:29Then, I apply it to the wound.
03:34Then, you burn the wound?
03:37Yes, I burn the wound.
03:40Then, the parasite will disappear?
03:42Yes, it will die.
03:44Gilbert's condition is getting worse.
03:48The male doctors ran away.
03:51They made me lie down on the bed.
03:54But my body is paralyzed.
03:59Fortunately, an ambulance arrived
04:01and they were able to find an antivenom in Karatingbayan.
04:08According to the Philippine Toxinology Society,
04:11in 2022,
04:12almost 6,000 cobras were caught in the Philippines.
04:17Of these, more than 3,000 died.
04:24But why are there people who are saved from being bitten by a cobra
04:29and there are people who die?
04:32It depends on the amount of venom that entered your body.
04:37If the cobra's venom is insufficient,
04:39it is less likely that the parasite will be transmitted.
04:45So, if the cobra's venom is not complete,
04:49it will have less venom?
04:51They are not capable to deliver the venom.
04:53Okay.
04:54The venom is through injecting
04:56using the hypodermic needle of their fangs.
04:59So, if those two fangs are infected,
05:02they are not capable to deliver the venom.
05:05The first aid is also important
05:08when you are bitten by a cobra.
05:11Based on experience in our fieldwork,
05:14if the bite site is here,
05:15we start here.
05:17Here?
05:18Is it tied?
05:19It is not tied.
05:20It is an elastic bandage.
05:22Ah.
05:23Okay.
05:24Because the venom doesn't flow on the bloodstream.
05:26It flows on the lymphatic system.
05:28Yes.
05:29So, even if you bleed it out,
05:30the venom won't be lost.
05:33So, the bloodstream has no effect?
05:36No.
05:37The bite?
05:38No.
05:39Envenomation can still cause
05:41to the person who bit the venom.
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