A six-year-old girl has died in hospital after being bitten by a brown snake on a Walgett property in New South Wales.
The girl was bitten on Friday afternoon and airlifted to Sydney Children's Hospital where she was placed on life support, after local doctors administered anti-venom in Walgett.
After her condition deteriorated, the six-year-old was transferred back to Walgett Hospital where she passed away on Saturday.
"I believe the family didn't know she'd been bitten and, by the time they'd realised, she was comatose," Walgett Shire deputy mayor Jane Keir told The Sydney Morning Herald.
"The little girl could have been on the edge of Sydney and the result would have been the same."
The shocking death has caused emergency services to issue a warning to Australians. NSW Ambulance and the NSW Police reminded the community to look out for snakes while the weather remains warm.
Tips include:
• If you are bitten by a snake, ensure someone calls Triple Zero (000) immediately;
• Until help arrives, if the bite is on a limb, apply a pressure immobilisation bandage but not so tight it will cut off circulation;
• If the bite is not on a limb, apply direct and firm pressure to the bite site with your hands (it is also important the patient is kept still); and,
• Check items of clothing that have been left outside before wearing them and if you lift something such as a rock or log, lift the object so it’s facing away from you.