Australia has been considered as the continent with a wide diverse of dangerous animals. Aside from the deadly Great White Shark attack news, the region is also famous for fatal snake bites. This time, it comes from the Australian Brown snake.
The so-called "Land Down Under" has numerous snake species and mostly are venomous. According to a new report, it seems that the favorite victims of the Australian Brown snakes are males. These sly reptiles generally bite during the warmer months. The incident often occurs inside or near the homes which are more than half the case.
The Australian Brown snake is also known as common or eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis) and can grow up to an average of 3.6 to 5.9 feet. This type of snake is considered as the second most venomous land snake in the word following the Inland Taipan which also thrives in Australia.
Between recorded deaths from 2000 and 2016, 23 out of 35 fatalities are held accountable to the Australian Brown snake according to the National Coronial Information Service (NCIS). The Australian Venom Research Unit (AVRU) at the University of Melbourne public health specialist, Dr. Ronelle Welton supervised the study that was published in the Internal Medicine Journal.
The research suggested that even if the mortality rates are low, it kept stable for more than 30 years. In spite of enhanced approach to the up-to-date clinical research as well as health care, cardiac arrest and collapse are still same issues, Phys.org has learned.
"While the perception remains that snake bite incidents occur in rural areas, we found that nearly half the incidents occurred in an urban environment," Dr. Welton said. He added that "People should not attempt to pick up snakes, and need to be encouraged to practice appropriate first aid and know CPR."
According to the Herald Sun report, most of the Australian Brown snake bites befall on the hand or finger and then to the foot or ankle. Nearly 60 percent of the snake bites occur after 4 o'clock in the afternoon based on the National Coronial Information Service information.
The Australian Brown snake victim will collapse or suffer a cardiac arrest and die as the venom consists of powerful presynaptic neurotoxins which induce paralysis or weakness of the muscles. It also contains procoagulants that impede blood clotting that could place victims in the danger of extreme bleeding.
