Most of these occur in Africa, Asia and Latin America. In Asia up to 2 million people are envenomed by snakes each year, while in Africa there are an estimated 435 000 to 580 000 snake bites annually that need treatment.
There are around 3,000 snakebites in Australia each year, with recent figures showing around 550 hospitalisations and an average of two deaths per annum. While 57% of snakebites happen in regional and rural areas – not in cities – the majority happen near homes or buildings.
"Including the brown, tiger, black, taipan, death adder and certain sea snakes and all these snakes are found in Queensland," Mr Farry said. "Most Australian snake bites are associated with minimal local pain and bite marks can be easily missed."
Typically, snake bite victims tend to be young males, between 11 and 19 years old, who are bitten on the hand while trying to pick up the snake. People attempting to take a “selfie” with the snake are at high risk of being bitten.
The venom of rattlesnakes and other pit vipers damages tissue around the bite. Venom may cause changes in blood cells, prevent blood from clotting, and damage blood vessels, causing them to leak. These changes can lead to internal bleeding and to heart, respiratory, and kidney failure.
You may not always know you were bitten by a snake, especially if you were bitten in water or tall grass. Signs and symptoms of a snakebite may include the following: Two puncture marks at the wound. Redness or swelling around the wound.
The killer of the most people
The saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus) may be the deadliest of all snakes, since scientists believe it to be responsible for more human deaths than all other snake species combined.
The black mamba, for example, injects up to 12 times the lethal dose for humans in each bite and may bite as many as 12 times in a single attack. This mamba has the fastest-acting venom of any snake, but humans are much larger than its usual prey so it still takes 20 minutes for you to die.
According to the CDC, about 8,000 snakebites happen in the U.S. each year. Even a bite from a "harmless" snake can cause infection or allergic reaction in some people. For your safety, treat all snakebites as if they were venomous and get to a hospital emergency room as quickly as possible.
In Australia, snakes sometimes slither into suburban backyards and homes. When the weather gets warm, they lounge in the sun. When it gets hot, they seek cool places: a wall crevice, under a refrigerator, under a barbecue grill, behind an air-conditioning unit.
Sydney prides itself on safety, deep culture, and friendly communities. It is considered the fifth safest city in the world and Australia's safest city.
Some snakes such as eastern brown snakes are active during the day, others prefer to hunt in the evening, while some species are more active at night during the hotter months.
Snakes can bite you underwater, but usually only if they're provoked or if they feel threatened. In the Tropical Journal of Medicine and Hygiene, researchers studied 100 sea-snake bite patients who visited a local hospital. They found that over 80% of patients were fishermen who had been in the water.
Minimal - but possible if you are walking around in the cool of the day when they are more likely to be moving from one place to another. Or if you happen to come across one coiled up in a shady spot under a bush. You'd have to look for it, though.
Introducing the most venomous snake in the world and epic predator of the Australian outback! The inland taipan is otherwise known as the fierce snake or small scaled snake.
African bush vipers are small reptiles known for their dorsal scales that give them a dragon-like appearance. There is no antivenom for the African bush viper, and bites can cause fevers or internal bleeding, which can be fatal.
But the blue coral snake (Calliophis bivirgata) is different. These beautifully coloured snakes from South East Asia and have a venom that's so powerful, it can trigger all of the victim's nerves to fire at once, instantly trigging full body spasms, paralysis, and a quick, horrifying death.
Mongooses are noted for their audacious attacks on highly venomous snakes, such as king cobras. The mongoose has a unique defense against most poisonous snakes. According to some, these predators have unique acetylcholine receptors that render them immune to a variety of venoms.
Rule Number 1: Don't Try To Outrun A Snake
Not because your kid can't — they probably could! The very fastest snake, the Black Mamba, can slither at about 12 MPH, and a truly scared human (even one with short legs) could probably exceed that.
A king cobra would win a fight against a taipan. The taipan has much deadlier venom, but that's not going to save it against the great amount of experience that king cobras have in attacking snakes. Neither snake lives in the same area of the world and they're from different families.
Humans are not prey and snakes tend to detect them by the mechanisms above and will mostly move out of the way if possible. If one is cornered however or inadvertently trodden on or rolled on in sleep it may bite defensively.
Typical symptoms of the bite from a nonvenomous snake are pain and scratches at the site. Usually, after a bite from a venomous snake, there is severe burning pain at the site within 15 to 30 minutes. This can progress to swelling and bruising at the wound and all the way up the arm or leg.