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A lady from the Vaal Triangle recently passed away after suffering for long from the after effects of a violin spider bite.

I also see that another foreign visitor, also have serious problems after being bitten by what is presumed a sac spider.

It is recommended that once after you've been bitten by a spider to immediately get to a doctor for treatment. a 2 day wait could prove to be too late.

Here is more on SA's most dangerous spiders and their venom, symptoms and treatment of bites.

Hi there, could you pls assist me in identifying this spider.

Not a good pic but maybe you can help me indentify it.

It is a young female Garden orb-web spider (Argiope australis). The males are much smaller and of drab colour. Uses her web to hunt. When an insect is caught she will first spin it in to a cocoon, before killing it. Sometimes the prey is left alive till needed later.

Spins a huge web, up to 75 cm. Has a painful but not dangerous bite.

Imberbe beat me to it... but ja, Argiope australis. They usually also incorporate the most gorgeous stabilimentums in their webs.

Thanks for the link WTM. Interesting and important to know....scary tho'.

Hi Folks
spiders bites in Southern Africa are very rarely serious. Only bites from our Black button species are potentially life threatening in extreme cases. Note that no one has ever died of a spider bite in southern Africa. When I say this I mean verified proven deaths from spiders. There are many stories out there mostly perpetuated by the media who do no more than desiminate exaggerations to sell newspapers. If it's not juicy enough then they make it so. I've very seldom read am unbiased newspaper article or newsreport on Spider bites or scorpion stings. The interviews that I give for radio always revolve around how venomous these creatures are. Newspaper and Radio people seem to be very ignorant in these areas.

As with bee stings, some people are more suseptable to animal venoms than others. When I get stung by a bee, it's painful for a few minutes and that's it. Other people can die from a bee sting. It's exactly the same for spider and scorpion venoms. Jonno's golden rule no 1: If you are allurgic to bee stings, do not (I repeat, do not!) pick up spiders and scorpions. Just to be on the safe side.

The three medically important spiders in southern Africa are (in order of symptomatic importance) Black Button Spiders (not to be confused with the American Black Widow as they are two different species), Violin Spiders and Sac Spiders. There are no verifiable cases of envenomations from the Six eyed desert Crab Spider although research has proven that they are medically important if you are a rabbit. The victims body mass plays an important factor in the severity of a bite or sting when it comes to neurotoxic venom (Button Spiders). Children are affected far more seriously thatn less say... Jimmy Abbot. Since Jimmy has a highier body mass (much higher). This means you can effectively protect youself from spider bites and scorpion stings by eating more Mcdonalds, although your hair will probably fall out and you'll break out in zits and die of a heart attack!


99% of all spider bite in Gauteng are Sac Spiders not Violin Spiders as is often claimed. Many unknown bites are put down to spiders because the medical profession just does not know what caused them. They produce different kinds of bites which are easily identified. The Violin Spider rarely produces massive tissue damage, mostly localised tissue damage. Of course we only hear about the bites that involve complications such as that woman from Heidelberg who had her arm ampulated 3 years after a spider bite. Serious Button Spider bites are very rare considering their distribution. Mainly in the Western Cape.

We have good medical facilities in southern Africa when it comes to spider and scorpion envenomation. The Tygerberg Hospital in the Cape has done alot of research on animal venoms (snakes, jellyfish, fish, corals, sting rays, etc...) under Dr Gerbus Muller. Antivenom is also available for serious scorpion envenomations :-)

Kind regards

Jonathan

I wonder if anyone can help me?

I think that I was bitten by a spider on my last visit in May. I thought that I had a sand flea bite on my wrist. I seem to be allergic to sand flea bites and this looked like one. It was very itchy. I then developed a small blister and a weepy bite mark that would crust up.

I wasn't very pretty.

I really did not worry about it too much, as other than the itch and the fact that it would not disappear, most times I just forgot about it.

Now, 9 weeks later, I have a mild thickening around my wrist. I am unable to wear my watch on my wrist as it still itches so much. There is still most definitely some inflammatory response. As I look at it, I have a red mark the size of a 50c coin and it is raised and thickened, because I forgot to put my watch on the other wrist.

My question is, does anyone know what kind of bite this might be?
What can be done about it?

Sorry MM, I have to laugh at the mistake her first...





Ok done. I would advise that you go see a doctor to start treatment of the area. Definitely sounds like a spider bite to me and one wouldn't want to play around with that.

Her first mistake. Never mind, MM, I'm sure you won't make a second one. Oom, on the other hand....

Sorry ...

The dyslexia kicked in again



spell ckeck didn't pick it up

Bites from Violin Spides are very rare in southern Africa. Most "bites" are attributed to spiders even though there is no phsycal evidence to indicate so. In a study of "spider bites" diagnosed by medical doctors, 80% were positively identified by specialists as non spider bites. Hoax emails, misinformation in popular magazines and newspapers continue to spread hearsay.

The Sac spider is the common culprit when it comes to spider bites. Treatment centres on keeping the bite clean and sterile to prevent secondary infection. Local antiseptics and systemic antibiotics are used to promote healing. Surgical cleaning of the wound may prevent the lesion from enlarging. Low doses of dapsone treatment for 4 days may control the size of the lesion. The resulting scar may require reconstructive surgery and skin grafts. Tetanis loxoid booster may be administered.

Kind regards

Jonathan

Being in the medical profession, I have seen a disproportionate increase in spider bite diagnoses in the last year or so. Probably well over thirty cases in just this area alone! Most of the bites seem to be cytotoxic because many develop ulcers later on. One unfortunate victim has been treated for over 18 months, but the necrotic tissue kept spreading until the hole in his leg was the size of a hand! Probably this was misdiagnosed, or treatment started too late, and infection must have set in too.

Thanks for the wonderful, and no-nonsense, information, ScorpionKing! And a hysterical laughter at your wonderful sense of humour! Everything is very clear and precise. As you say, there have been no direct deaths from spider bites in SA, but indirect deaths do occur from secondary organ failure. Thus people can die from a spider bite if left undiagnosed and untreated. And the problem is indeed that many doctors misdiagnose, meaning that effective treatment begins too late in some cases.

What I was wondering is, are 99% of all bites (from sac spiders) actually cytotoxic? And how come so many more people seem to have been bitten lately - is it encroachment of the spiders into human areas, or are people doing things that are encouraging the bites?

May it not largely be due to the excellent rainy season we have had. Insects in general did well. That would imply an excellent food source for spiders, which would enable more spiders to survive and multiply.