Snakes head for town as Australian drought bites
Pastor Dale Morgan
Snakes head for town as Australian drought bites*
SYDNEY, Jan 18 (AFP) Jan 18, 2007
Three people have died from snakebites in Australia as a harsh drought
drives venomous reptiles into urban areas, officials and experts warned
Thursday.
More people could be bitten as increasing numbers of snakes move into
residential and business areas in search of moisture, Victoria state
health minister Bronwyn Pike said.
"If you see a snake, don't go near it, and if you do unfortunately
happen to be bitten by a snake, make sure you get urgent medical
attention as soon as possible," Pike said.
"In the intervening time, stay calm, apply a pressure bandage and then,
hopefully, we won't have any of the tragic consequences we've seen most
recently."
A teenager bitten in the country's most populous city Sydney last week
staggered onto a suburban cricket ground before collapsing and being
rushed to hospital, where he died.
The 16-year-old boy was one of three people bitten by snakes in the past
week and one of three killed by eastern brown snakes, considered to be
among the world's deadliest, this southern hemisphere summer.
"Across Australia we're seeing far more snakebites than we have had for
many years," George Braitberg, co-director of a statewide toxicology
centre at Austin Hospital, told the national AAP news agency.
"The message still remains that people can die in this country from
snakebite even in the 21st century," said Australian Venom Research Unit
director Ken Winkel.