<p>A man has died a week after being bitten by one of the world's deadliest snakes in his living room in Australia's tropical northeast, officials said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The 77-year-old, named in local media as David Pitt, was at his home in Cairns when he was bitten between his toes as he tried to kill the snake with a spade last Tuesday, Queensland Ambulance said.<br /><br />Paramedics performed CPR and gave Pitt anti-venom treatment before taking him to Cairns Base Hospital in a critical condition.<br /><br />"There's quite a lot of blood on the scene so potentially the snake had actually hit a vein instead of just entering the tissue itself. It was quite a rapid injection of the venom," critical care flight paramedic Valerie Noble said last week.<br /><br />Pitt remained in intensive care but died on Monday, a hospital spokeswoman told AFP today.<br /><br />The snake was reportedly a 1.5-metre (4.9-foot) long coastal taipan, the world's third-most venomous snake.<br /><br />Deaths from bites are rare despite Australia being home to 20 of the world's 25 most venomous snakes.<br /><br />According to official estimates there are about 3,000 snakebite cases in Australia every year, with 300-500 needing anti-venom treatment. Only an average of two a year prove fatal. <br /></p>
<p>A man has died a week after being bitten by one of the world's deadliest snakes in his living room in Australia's tropical northeast, officials said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The 77-year-old, named in local media as David Pitt, was at his home in Cairns when he was bitten between his toes as he tried to kill the snake with a spade last Tuesday, Queensland Ambulance said.<br /><br />Paramedics performed CPR and gave Pitt anti-venom treatment before taking him to Cairns Base Hospital in a critical condition.<br /><br />"There's quite a lot of blood on the scene so potentially the snake had actually hit a vein instead of just entering the tissue itself. It was quite a rapid injection of the venom," critical care flight paramedic Valerie Noble said last week.<br /><br />Pitt remained in intensive care but died on Monday, a hospital spokeswoman told AFP today.<br /><br />The snake was reportedly a 1.5-metre (4.9-foot) long coastal taipan, the world's third-most venomous snake.<br /><br />Deaths from bites are rare despite Australia being home to 20 of the world's 25 most venomous snakes.<br /><br />According to official estimates there are about 3,000 snakebite cases in Australia every year, with 300-500 needing anti-venom treatment. Only an average of two a year prove fatal. <br /></p>