A woman in Australia is fortunate to be alive after being bitten by a venomous snake while she slept in her bed.
The unnamed woman in her 20s has been airlifted to hospital following the attack from an eastern brown, the world’s second-most venomous snake, at her remote home in the Western Downs region in Queensland’s south-east.
The woman was bitten on the hand around 1am on Friday, January 12. Reports stated that she was initially treated by her family before paramedics arrived.
After a dose of anti-venom, the woman was then flown to Toowoomba Hospital in a stable condition by the RACQ LifeFlight helicopter.
The young woman managed to snap a picture of the intruder poking its head out from beneath her blanket.
7News in Australia reports that she remains in a stable condition.
Darling Downs Health, which runs Toowoomba hospital, said: “The patient remains in a serious but stable condition.”
Tim Hudson, of Queensland-based Hudson Snake Catching, said bites are usually painless because of the snake’s small fangs.
“It’s certainly possible that people can get bitten and not realise,” Hudson said.
“This snake quite likely would have come in during the day when it was hot yesterday and I suspect … could have been in the house overnight.”
The eastern brown is considered to be the second most venomous snake in the world, second to the inland Taipan. It can outrun a person running at full-speed, so hopes of a getaway are slim.
