Anti-venom researchers

Australia's leading anti-venom research group may close its doors at the end of June following the withdrawal of funding from the Victorian State Government.

The Australian Venom Research Unit has developed anti-venoms to treat people bitten by the country's many poisonous animals, insects and fish for the last seven years.

More than 3,500 bite and sting victims are treated in hospitals around the country each year for potentially deadly venom-related conditions.

According to a report in The Age newspaper today, the unit's annual funding of $100,000 from the Victorian State Government, which pays for the salaries of the unit's director and deputy director, will not be renewed.

The government has told the unit's director, Dr Ken Winkel, that their funding should be the responsibility of the Federal Government.

"This is not just about Australia, it has international implications", Dr Winkel told The Age. "If this unit disappears, it will be a symbolic as well as a practical loss. People are dying every year in Australia and thousands more are dying overseas."

Last week a woman was in a critical condition after being stung by a jellyfish in Western Australia.

"This illustrates that the problems are not solved," Dr Winkel told The Age. "We still have challenges every day. There's still so much to learn about Australia's venomous creatures and managing the effects of their toxins."

A spokesman for the Victorian Department of Human Services said the unit had been given $770,000 in funding over the last seven years.

"We recognise that the unit does important work, but we're not the only beneficiary and we should not carry the financial burden," the spokesman told The Age. "We have approached the Commonwealth and they have been receptive to our approaches and to the unit's plight, but they have not made a commitment as yet."

Australia has provided international leadership in anti-venom research and is the only country to produce anti-venoms for sea snakes, sea wasp, blue-ringed octopus and stone fish.

The venom unit provides a 24-hour advisory service to medical practitioners on the management of bites and stings, investigates the impact of envenomations on public health, and researches new anti-venoms. Source