Pregnant woman and unborn baby 'killed by deadly snake bite' in Australia

Police have not yet identified type of venom but experts believe western brown snake was most likely to be responsible

The eastern brown snake (pictured) is said to be even more aggressive than the western brown snake, but both can be deadly (AFP/Getty Images)

A heavily pregnant woman and her unborn baby have reportedly been killed by a venomous snake in Australia.

The 27-year-old was bitten outside her home in Meekatharra, 480 miles north-east of Perth, and started suffering from seizures, it has been claimed.

The woman, who has not been named, was rushed to Meekatharra Hospital but died shortly after arriving, according to ABC News.

Police are unsure of the type of snake that bit her, but experts said the deadly western brown snake was most likely to be responsible.

A post-mortem to determine the woman’s cause of death will be conducted in due course.

Toxicologist Dr Timothy Jackson told ABC the woman’s pregnancy may have been a contributory factor to her sudden death, as the low blood pressure associated with pregnancy can cause a rapid collapse after a bite.

“Some snake bites can have very dramatic effects on blood pressure and some of the very rapid deaths we see in Australia are associated with a syndrome called ‘rapid collapse’,” he said.

“This is more common after brown snake bites than after bites from other species.”

Brown snakes are the world’s second most venomous terrestrial snakes and among Australia’s most deadly creatures. They are characteristically aggressive and are highly adaptive, frequently found in farms and urban areas where their usual prey is mice.

As many as 300 people are bitten by snakes in Australia each year, but there are few associated deaths. Eighteen people have died from snake bites in the country since 2011.

It comes just weeks after a 24-year-old man was killed after trying to remove a brown snake from the mouth of his dog at his home in Tamworth, north-west of Sydney.