Case reports

Sutherland 1983: 1 A. superbus bite; identification: criteria not specified. According to the new, revised taxonomy of Austrelaps spp. this would have been either A. superbus in the new sense or the newly defined species A. ramsayi.

White 1987a: 2 A. superbus bites; identification: definitive. According to the new taxonomy of Austrelaps spp. this would probably have been A. labialis.

Regional differences in symptoms of envenoming
According to White's experiences in the Adelaide Hills, no bites with systemic signs of envenoming have been recorded in this region (White 1987b); in contrast, Sutherland recorded a single case of systemic envenoming in Victoria (Sutherland 1983).

The small number of cases does not allow any conclusions to be drawn.

Signs & symptoms

Local effects

Mild local pain, mild local oedema 1/2 (White 1987a), but mostly a complete absence of pain or local swelling (White 1987b).

Neurological effects

Paralysis 1/1 (Sutherland 1983). The close relationship to Notechis scutatus leads us to expect similar signs of envenoming, but there is a lack of data due to the infrequency of Austrelaps bites.

Other signs & symptoms

Nausea 1/2 (White 1987a).

Case fatality rate

1 fatality on the Dog Islands (Worrell, pers. comm., cited in Sutherland 1983).

Treatment (symptomatic)

Endotracheal intubation and ventilation (Sutherland 1983).

Treatment (specific)

Antivenom
Tiger snake antivenom, CSL, Parkville, Australia (Sutherland 1983).