Antivenom, also known as antivenin, venom antiserum, and antivenom immunoglobulin, is a specific treatment for envenomation. It is composed of antibodies and used to treat certain venomous bites and stings. Antivenoms are recommended only if there is significant toxicity or a high risk of toxicity. The specific antivenom needed depends on the species involved. It is given by injection.
Elapidae is a family of snakes characterized by their permanently erect fangs at the front of the mouth. Most elapids are venomous, with the exception of the genus Emydocephalus. Many members of this family exhibit a threat display of rearing upwards while spreading out a neck flap. Elapids are endemic to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, with terrestrial forms in Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Americas and marine forms in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Members of the family have a wide range of sizes, from the 18 cm (7.1 in) white-lipped snake to the 5.85 m king cobra. Most species have neurotoxic venom that is channeled by their hollow fangs, and some may contain other toxic components in various proportions. The family includes 55 genera with around 360 species and over 170 subspecies.
Bungarus is a genus of elapids native to Asia. Often found on the floor of tropical forests in South Asia, Southeast Asia and Southern China, they are medium-sized, highly venomous snakes with a length typically not exceeding 2 metres. These are nocturnal ophiophagious predators which prey primarily on other snakes at night, occasionally taking lizards, amphibians and rodents. Most species are with banded patterns acting as a warning sign to their predators. Despite being considered as generally docile and timid, kraits are capable of delivering highly potent neurotoxic venom which is medically significant with potential lethality to humans. The genus currently holds 16 species and 5 subspecies.
Acanthophis is a genus of elapid snakes. Commonly called death adders, they are native to Australia, New Guinea and nearby islands, and are among the most venomous snakes in the world. Despite their common name, they are not adders at all and belong to the Elapidae family. The name of the genus derives from the Ancient Greek akanthos/ἄκανθος ('spine') and ophis/ὄφις ('snake'), referring to the spine on the death adder's tail.
Taipans are snakes of the genus Oxyuranus in the elapid family. They are large, fast-moving, highly venomous, and endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Three species are recognised, one of which, the coastal taipan, has two subspecies. Taipans are some of the deadliest known snakes.
A snakebite is an injury caused by the bite of a snake, especially a venomous snake. A common sign of a bite from a venomous snake is the presence of two puncture wounds from the animal's fangs. Sometimes venom injection from the bite may occur. This may result in redness, swelling, and severe pain at the area, which may take up to an hour to appear. Vomiting, blurred vision, tingling of the limbs, and sweating may result. Most bites are on the hands, arms, or legs. Fear following a bite is common with symptoms of a racing heart and feeling faint. The venom may cause bleeding, kidney failure, a severe allergic reaction, tissue death around the bite, or breathing problems. Bites may result in the loss of a limb or other chronic problems or even death.
CSL Limited is an Australian multinational specialty biotechnology company that researches, develops, manufactures, and markets products to treat and prevent serious human medical conditions. CSL's product areas include blood plasma derivatives, vaccines, antivenom, and cell culture reagents used in various medical and genetic research and manufacturing applications. The company was established in 1916 as Commonwealth Serum Laboratories and was wholly owned by the Australian federal government until its privatisation in 1994.
The eastern brown snake, often referred to as the common brown snake, is a species of extremely venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to eastern and central Australia and southern New Guinea. It was first described by André Marie Constant Dumé
The common death adder is a species of death adder native to Australia. It is one of the most venomous land snakes in Australia and globally. While it remains widespread, it is facing increased threat from the ongoing Australian cane toad invasion.
The desert death adder is a species of snake native to Australia and is one of the most venomous land snakes in the world. The desert death adder is under threat due to the destruction of habitat.
The Australian Reptile Park is located at Somersby on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. It is about 71 kilometres (44 mi) north of Sydney, and is just off the M1 Pacific Motorway, near Gosford. The Park has one of the largest reptile collections in Australia, with close to 50 species on display. The wide variety of reptile species at the Park includes snakes, lizards, turtles, tortoises, tuataras, American alligators and crocodiles.
Echiopsis curta is a terrestrial, elapid species of snake, also commonly known from the Aboriginal name as the bardick. It is a short, highly venomous snake with variable color which is mainly nocturnal, reaching a maximum length of 57 cm. It is endemic to Australia, most commonly found in three distinct populations through southern Australia. They are considered venomous to humans, however there is very little information. Their population is decreasing due to habitat degradation and destruction but considered least concern on the IUCN Red List.
The coastal taipan, or common taipan, is a species of extremely venomous snake in the family Elapidae. Described by Wilhelm Peters in 1867, the species is native to the coastal regions of northern and eastern Australia and the island of New Guinea. The second-longest venomous snake in Australia, the coastal taipan averages around 2.0 m (6.6 ft) long, with the longest specimens reaching 2.9 m (9.5 ft) in length. It has light olive or reddish-brown upperparts, with paler underparts. The snake is considered to be a least-concern species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The Papuan black snake is a venomous snake of the family Elapidae native to New Guinea. Reaching around 2 m in length, it is a predominantly black snake coloured grey underneath.
Micropechis ikaheca, commonly known as the New Guinea small-eyed snake or Ikaheka snake, is a highly venomous elapid, the only species in the genus Micropechis. The holotype was collected at Doré on the Vogelkop of Netherlands New Guinea, and described in 1829, by the naturalist on board the French Navy vessel La Coquille, ship's surgeon René Primevère Lesson, in a volume of the three-year circumnavigation (1922-1925) by Louis Isidore Duperrey, captain of La Coquille. Lesson's holotype is housed in the collection of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, in Paris, with the museum accession no. MNHN 7669.
Most snakebites are caused by non-venomous snakes. Of the roughly 3,700 known species of snake found worldwide, only 15% are considered dangerous to humans. Snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica. There are two major families of venomous snakes, Elapidae and Viperidae. 325 species in 61 genera are recognized in the family Elapidae and 224 species in 22 genera are recognized in the family Viperidae, In addition, the most diverse and widely distributed snake family, the colubrids, has approximately 700 venomous species, but only five genera—boomslangs, twig snakes, keelback snakes, green snakes, and slender snakes—have caused human fatalities.
This article lists the various snakes of Australia which live in a wide variety of habitats around the country. The Australian scrub python is Australia's largest native snake.
The rough-scaled death adder is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae.
The Kimberley death adder is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae native to northwestern Australia.
