Dear Venom clan - I'll take a moment for some editorial licence - please note the headline and implication of the SMH item ... and then read into the article for the actual fact. Emphasis mine
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (Australia) 28 April 06 Pet snake attack: owner in coma (Jano Gibson)
A Blue Mountains man is in intensive care after being bitten by his own death adder overnight.
The 53-year-old from Hazelbrook "was bitten twice on the hand by the death adder when he opened a cage at his home to inspect the snake," an NRMA CareFlight spokesman said.
"Australia has some of the deadliest snakes in the world and it's one of them," the spokesman said.
The man was initially treated at Liverpool Hospital with two doses of death adder anti-venom before he was airlifted to Nepean Hospital.
The NRMA CareFlight spokesman said he understood it was not the first time the man had been treated at Nepean Hospital for snake-bite related injuries.
The man remains in intensive care in an induced coma but is expected to make a full recovery.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/pet-snake-attacks-owner/2006/04/28/1145861516503.html
NEWS.COM.AU (Australia) 28 April 06 Pet death adder bites owner
(AAP) A Blue Mountains snake enthusiast is recovering in a Sydney hospital after being bitten by a death adder he kept as a pet.
The 53-year-old man from Hazlebrook was bitten twice on the hand last night when he opened the venomous snake's cage, an NRMA CareFlight doctor said.
The man was taken to Nepean Hospital, where he was given anti-venom and placed on a ventilator to control his breathing.
Early today he was transferred by helicopter to Liverpool Hospital where he remains in a serious but stable condition.
The death adder, which can grow up to 90cm in length, is one of the most venomous snakes in the world, Taronga Zoo spokesman Mark Williams said.
"The common death adder is ranked in the top ten in the most dangerous snakes in the world, when considered on venom toxicity," Mr Williams said.
"Within Australia it is ranked fifth most dangerous, behind the brown snake and the taipan."
A bite from a death adder causes paralysis and can cause death from a complete respiratory shutdown in as little as six hours.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,18956322-421,00.html
