Many reptile
keepers consider it a placid snake to handle. However, caution should be exercised and a safe distance maintained as it can inflict a potentially fatal bite. The inland taipan will defend itself and strike if provoked, et al. have stated in
Toxicon journal (October 2017) "There have been 11 previously well-documented envenomings by
O. microlepidotus, but only 2 were inflicted by wild snakes. When clinically indicated, prompt provision of adequate antivenom is the cornerstone of managing
O. microlepidotus envenoming. Rapid application of pressure-bandage immobilization and efficient retrieval of victims envenomed in remote locales, preferably by medically well-equipped aircraft, probably improves the likelihood of a positive outcome."
Snakebite victims A case of survival without antivenom was recorded in 1967; on 15 September, a tour guide was bitten while trying to capture a snake for a tour group in the Channel Country. He was conveyed to Broken Hill Hospital and then to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide, but was not given antivenom, as he reported he was severely allergic to horse serum and believed he had been bitten by a brown snake. He spent four weeks in the hospital overall; his condition was likened to severe
myasthenia gravis. Meanwhile, the snake was sent to Eric Worrell, who confirmed it was a coastal taipan. After its rediscovery in 1972, it was identified as an inland taipan. In September 2012, in the small city of
Kurri Kurri, New South Wales, north of Sydney, more than 1000 km away from the snake's natural environment, a teenaged boy was bitten on the finger by an inland taipan. The teenager's rapid self-application of a
compression bandage above the wound and the availability and administration of a polyvalent (broad-spectrum)
antivenom in the local hospital saved his life. The police worked to find out how the inland taipan got to this part of Australia. The snake was most likely a stolen or illegal pet and the boy had tried to feed it. In December 2013, reptile handler Scott Grant, who was conducting a demonstration in front of 300 people at the annual building union's picnic in
Portland, Victoria, had just finished showing the crowd an inland taipan and was trying to put it into a bag when it struck him. He got into his utility and tied a bandage around his arm. A few minutes later, however, he was lying on the ground and
convulsing. He was flown in a serious condition to
Essendon Airport and driven to the
Royal Melbourne Hospital, where his condition was stabilised, and over time, he recovered. Only a tiny amount of venom from the inland taipan had entered his body, and the adverse reaction he felt shortly after was an allergic one, presumably due to his past snake bites. In October 2017, Weinstein et al. published a
case report in
Toxicon, writing, "The victim was seeking to observe members of an isolated population of this species and was envenomed while attempting to photograph an approximately 1.5 m specimen. He reported feeling "
drowsiness" and
blurred vision that progressed to
ptosis; he later developed
dysphagia and
dysarthria. The patient was treated with one vial of polyvalent antivenom, which was later followed by an additional two vials of taipan monovalent. He was intubated during retrieval, and recovered after 3 days of intensive care. He had a right
ophthalmoplegia that persisted for approximately 1 week post-envenoming.". Almost all positively identified inland taipan bite victims have been herpetologists handling the snakes for study or snake handlers, such as people who catch snakes to extract their venom, or
keepers in
wildlife parks. All were treated successfully with antivenom. No recorded incidents have been fatal since the advent of monovalent (specific) antivenom therapy, though weeks are needed to recover from such a severe bite. ==Venom==