A man has died in hospital after being bitten multiple times by a snake in north Queensland.<\/p>\n
Queensland ambulance service paramedics were called to a Deeragun property after 3pm on Tuesday. The man was in a critical condition and had sustained \u201cmultiple\u201d snake bites at a separate address. He was taken to Townsville hospital but later died.<\/p>\n
It is believed the man was bitten by an eastern brown snake but QAS was unable to confirm this.<\/p>\n
Eastern brown snakes are highly venomous, with their populations thriving thanks to broad-scale clearing of land for agriculture. They are medium-sized snakes, found across eastern Australia in a wide stretch from northern Queensland to South Australia.<\/p>\n
Although brown snakes are the most common cause of fatal snake bites in the country, it is rare for bites to be fatal.<\/p>\n
About 3,000 snake bites are reported each year, with 41% from brown snakes. Two deaths are reported each year from bites.<\/p>\n
More than half of the snakebite fatalities in Australia between 2000 and 2016 occurred in or around the victim\u2019s home, according to a nationwide review.<\/p>\n