DAILY TELEGRAPH (Sydney, Australia) 15 January 07 Snake bite teenager dies (Stephanie Wilson)
A teenage boy bitten by a brown snake while playing in the bush died last night.
The 16-year-old, who suffered a heart attack shortly after being struck on the hand near Whalan Reserve, in Sydney's west, on Saturday, died at Westmead Hospital.
"Our son has died tragically after being bitten by a snake. We ask that our privacy be respected at this time," his family said.
Snake experts said the incident may not have ended in tragedy if better first aid -- such as using compression bandages - was taught in schools.
Steve Foster, who was at Whalan Reserve watching his son play cricket, said the boy was in a "bad way" when he was discovered lying just outside the oval fence.
"To me, it looked like he was already dead," he said. "His face, skin, had all gone black. It was a bit scary."
Snake expert John Weigel, director of the Australian Reptile Park on the Central Coast, said the incident emphasised the need for first aid to be taught to young people.
"If he had applied the correct bandage technique or strips of clothing and compressed the bite area on the finger, it's almost a certainty that he wouldn't have become ill until he got to the hospital," Mr Weigel said.
"That's the terrible thing, that kids don't know about this first aid treatment. They really should be taught these things in school."
Mr Weigel said compressing a bite stopped venom from entering the lymphatic system and getting into the blood.
Brown snake venom causes micro-clots in the blood and it is not unusual for a heart attack or arrhythmia to occur.
Mr Weigel also said walking after being bitten by a snake was not a "good idea" but the boy's actions in the panic of the moment were understandable.
Australian Venom Research Unit clinical toxinologist Dr Bill Nimo added: "This is the snake season and people should ... know the pressure immobilisation technique."
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21058255-5005941,00.html
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (Australia) 15 January 07 Snake bite victim dies (Bellinda Kontominas)
A Sydney teenager bitten by one of the world's most venomous snakes died in hospital yesterday afternoon with his family at his bedside.
The 16-year-old stumbled from bushland into the middle of a suburban cricket game at Whalan on Saturday and collapsed from a heart attack after he had been bitten on the hand by an eastern brown snake.
He was taken to Westmead Hospital but died yesterday afternoon.
His family issued a statement last night saying their son had died from the snake bite.
"We ask that our privacy be respected at this time," they said.
Doctors worked throughout the night on Saturday but were unable to save the boy.
It is believed his trek with a friend to find help, in hot conditions through bushland, may have advanced the spread of the venom through his body.
The boy's death has been referred to the coroner.
The eastern brown snake is common on the east coast and can grow to two metres.
It is considered the second-most venomous land snake in the world after the inland taipan, which also lives in Australia.
One Campbelltown snake catcher, Les Shearim, said the eastern brown snake loved warm weather and there were "probably millions" around Sydney at this time.
He said brown snakes were "found all over Sydney, really".
"They are very common in the western suburbs.
"They adapt to human environments. I have found them under houses and in shopping centres."
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/snake-bite-victim-dies/2007/01/14/1168709616114.html
HERALD SUN (Melbourne, Australia) 15 January 07 Be careful: snake bite victim (Dina Rosendorff)
Rick Sproles is lucky to be alive after being bitten by a deadly brown snake while collecting eggs with his toddler son from the chook shed at his Seville home.
The life-threatening ordeal left Mr Sproles, 32, shaken but determined to warn other Victorians to beware of snake attacks.
The risk of them has increased as heat and drought force the poisonous intruders farther into the suburbs in search of food and water.
Mr Sproles, a strawberry grower who keeps about 30 chickens on his Yarra Valley property, was collecting eggs last Wednesday night with his son Liam, 2 1/2.
A snake was in some hay and it lunged at Mr Sproles, biting him just above the little finger on his right hand.
"I grabbed the snake with my left hand just behind the head, but it started twirling around my arm and slipped out of my grasp," he said.
"I dragged my son off to safety and tried to go back into the shed with a shovel, but I couldn't find the snake."
Within minutes Mr Sproles felt woozy and started vomiting.
He took the belt off his pants and his wife, Stacey, wrapped it around his forearm.
Paramedics arrived within minutes and rushed him to Maroondah Hospital.
Declared in a serious but stable condition, he was treated and kept there overnight.
Mr Sproles, who used to keep snakes as pets, suspected one might be on the loose when he noticed several small eggs were missing from his chicken coop in the weeks leading up to the attack.
"Because the weather's turned warm, I said to my wife: 'You need to be very careful - go in (the shed) with Liam and take a shovel with you at all times.' "
"The one day we didn't take a shovel in with us, that's when it happened."
Associate Prof George Braitberg, director of Austin Hospital's emergency department and co-director of the toxicology service, said he presumed there had been an increase in snake bites because of the drought.
A teenager bitten by one of the world's most venomous snakes has died in a Sydney hospital with his family at his bedside.
After being bitten on the hand by an eastern brown snake on Saturday, the 16-year-old stumbled from bushland into the middle of a suburban cricket game and collapsed.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21059300-2862,00.html
