Dispelling the myths associated with A. robustus and Phoneutria perpetuated by the media scare

[Outpost31Survivor]

This is an article worth bookmarking:

According to the Australian Museum, the number of human deaths from authentic spider bites of any kind in Australia since 1979 has been zero. A recent published medical study followed 750 genuine Australian spider bite cases with identified spiders over 27 months (1999-2001). Only 44 bites (6%, mostly redback spider bites) had significant effects. Only 6 redback bites and 1 Atrax bite were serious enough to need antivenom. In no case was there any sign of allergic response to spider venom, and I have only seen one such case in North America in 44 years.

Atrax robustus, the Sydney Funnelweb Spider, is often publicized as the "world's deadliest." Authentic medical information suggests otherwise. There have been no deaths (out of 30-40 bites per year) since antivenom was introduced in 1980. During the 53 year period 1927-1979 there were 13 or 14 known deaths, which would be a death rate of under one percent! Although one child died in 15 minutes, adult fatalities typically took 2-3 days. 90% of Atrax bites are judged not serious enough to need antivenom.

Brazilian Wandering Spiders (aranhas armadeiras), Phoneutria nigriventer, P. keyserlingi and P. fera, are sometimes said to have the world's most toxic spider venom – probably based on a well publicized study where mice were killed by intravenous injection of as little as 0.006 mg of venom. Since I'm a man, not a mouse, that doesn't worry me much. Authoritative sources state that over 7,000 authentic cases of human bites from these spiders have been recorded, with only around 10 known deaths, and about 2% of cases serious enough to need antivenom. So despite the surprisingly large number of bites, this spider is not exactly public enemy number one either.

Most medical conditions blamed on spiders by physicians lack confirmation that any actual spider was involved in the case. Spider bites of all kinds are rare events (as opposed to other bites and medical conditions that get wrongly blamed on spiders). Although it is possible for a spider bite to cause death, that is a very unlikely outcome and does not happen in enough cases to justify calling any spider "deadly."

Myth: Deadly Australian/Brazilian spiders

The most notorious "deadly" spiders of Australia and Brazil are not as toxic as their reputation; very few deaths have ever been recorded.

www.burkemuseum.org

 

[Stefan2209]

That site is quite outdated.

Target audience seems to be the general public which knows literally nothing about medically important genera.

Current information about bite accidents caused by Phoneutria sp. can be found here:

Envenomation by Wandering Spiders (Genus Phoneutria)

Spiders of the genus Phoneutria, commonly known as wandering or banana spiders, are found in southern Central America (Costa Rica) and throughout South America east of the Andes into northern Argentina. Eight species, classified as Amazonian (P. fera, P. reidyi, and...

link.springer.com

The other parts of the Toxinology book series are also highly recommended.

If a person - for whatever reason - is interested in a particular genus or species of potential medical relevance i highly suggest to refer to scientific literature, especially from the country of origin of the species in question.

I wonder if Crawford was aware that the most problematic genus wrt bite accidents in South America isn't Phoneutria, but Loxosceles. I also wonder if he knew that the (long believed to be harmless) L. rufescens has caused a deadly bite accident in Europe.

 

[Outpost31Survivor]

That site is quite outdated.

Target audience seems to be the general public which knows literally nothing about medically important genera.

Current information about bite accidents caused by Phoneutria sp. can be found here:

Envenomation by Wandering Spiders (Genus Phoneutria)

Spiders of the genus Phoneutria, commonly known as wandering or banana spiders, are found in southern Central America (Costa Rica) and throughout South America east of the Andes into northern Argentina. Eight species, classified as Amazonian (P. fera, P. reidyi, and...

link.springer.com

The other parts of the Toxinology book series are also highly recommended.

If a person - for whatever reason - is interested in a particular genus or species of potential medical relevance i highly suggest to refer to scientific literature, especially from the country of origin of the species in question.

I wonder if Crawford was aware that the most problematic genus wrt bite accidents in South America isn't Phoneutria, but Loxosceles. I also wonder if he knew that the (long believed to be harmless) L. rufescens has caused a deadly bite accident in Europe.

He did use scientific papers published by the home countries. UCR (University Of California, Riverside) has a similar site that actually cites its references. And it seems both these sources are agreement with each other.

Most of the clinically important bites by this genus occur in Brazil (~4,000 cases per year), with only 0.5% being severe.

^ severe = potentially life threatening, (average 20 bites out of 4,000 bites). Crawford's source may have overestimated or his sources did.

Local pain is the major symptom reported after most bites and involves peripheral (tachykinin (neurokinin NK1 and NK2) and glutamate receptors) and central (spinal) mechanisms (neurokinins, excitatory amino acids, nitric oxide, proinflammatory cytokines, and prostanoids). Other local features observed in envenomed patients include edema, erythema, radiating pain, sweating, fasciculation, and paresthesia.

^ mild non-life threatening symptons

Systemic manifestations are less common and may include diaphoresis, tachycardia, arterial hypertension, agitation, prostration, sialorrhea, vomiting, tachypnea, pallor, hypothermia, cyanosis, diarrhea, and priapism.Shock and pulmonary edema, the main severe complications, are uncommon and possibly related to increased sympathetic activity and a systemic inflammatory response, although no sequential serum catecholamine, nitric oxide, and interleukin levels have been measured in prospective case series of human envenomations by Phoneutria spp.

^ moderate non-life threatening (treated with supportive symptomatic care, antivenom reserved for severe cases) to severe potentially life threatening systemic manifestations.

Most cases are treated symptomatically, with antivenom being recommended only for patients who develop important systemic clinical manifestations; such manifestations occur in ~3% of cases and involve mainly children <10 years old and adults >70 years old. Fifteen deaths attributed to Phoneutria spp. have been reported in Brazil since 1903, but in only two of these cases are there sufficient details to confirm a causal nexus.

^ Most cases are mild to moderate envenomations requiring only symptomatic supportive care. 3% (120 bites out of 4,000 bites) of envenomations develop important systemic clinical manifestations (moderate to severe envenomations) that involve mainly patients 10 years and younger and adults 70 years and older. 15 deaths are attributed to Phoneutria spp. since 1903 but only two are genuinely confirmed.


EDIT: I had to re-edit my last comments because I misread it and misrepresented the original author's intent.

In one case study 2.3% (severe envenomations?) of 422 Phoneutria bites required antivenom (9.7 of 422) with 1 death of a small child.

Here is the UCR site:

Deadly Banana Spider ... or not

spiders.ucr.edu

 

[Stefan2209]

Thanks, i know the UCR site and have collaborated with Rick Vetter in the past.

The statistics quoted above should be used with context.

From the paper i quoted:

However, the true incidence is probably lower than that suggested here since some cases reported as bites by Phoneutria spp. were probably misdiagnosed and likely to have been caused by Ctenus spp.

Meaning the actual number of bite accidents (that got reported, not all are reported) may be lower, impacting %-rates. Then there's this:

The Brazilian states with the highest incidences of Phoneutria spp. bites are Santa Catarina (15 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), Paraná (10 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), and Rio Grande do Sul (3.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), all of
them in southern Brazil (Fig. 7).

If you look at biogeography of the genus, you'll note that not all species are even distributed in those areas.

Also nice to know:

There is little epidemiological information for bites by P. nigriventer in other South American countries of this species’ range. At least 150 bites by Phoneutria spp. in humans are reported yearly in Argentina, essentially in the northeastern region province of Misiones), and are probably caused by P. nigriventer (de Roodt et al. 2011; Argentina, Ministerio de Salud 2012).

and

There have been few published reports of bites by Amazonian species of Phoneutria, and most of them have provided few clinical details.

bottom line:

A literature search turned up no further reports of bites by Phoneutria spp. in Central and South American countries.

Phoneutria spp. cause accidents. Some species, particular P. nigriventer, seems more likely to cause accidents than other species of the genus. Official figures are interesting but need to be treated carefully for various reasons. Species and even genus ID is most often not possible, either because the spider isn't brought in for ID or because of lacking resources.
There are one or two papers (i think one from AM, one from AC) from individual Amazonas states in Brazil, reporting bite accidents and showing pics of specimens. All shown specimens were Phoneutria, but species ID was wrong (which is quite funny as the two species in question look quite different).
Bite accidents in other countries are hard to impossible to track, as there's apparently no recording system. I was surprised to learn that apparently P. nigriventer has caused deaths in Uruguay as well as in Argentina, i found only very little information online mentioning this and no details at all.

Case records seem to be generally rare outside of Brazil. Last year saw the publication of a bite accident caused by P. depilata in Panama:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362109611_Phoneutria_depilata_Araneae_Ctenidae_in_Panama_report_of_a_bite_case_in_Bocas_del_Toro_province_notes_on_distribution_and_public_health_relevance

All in all taken into account the numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt. Same is true for severity statistics, as individual reaction may - and most likely will - be different for different persons (age, sex etc.). The information provided is a "snapshot" of the data available without the intent to be the end of all means.

Especially data from countries outside of Brazil should be treated carefully if individual species are mentioned:

Faun Forever | Invertebrate Research Volunteer Intern | Peru

Peruvian Amazon: Opportunity to study butterflies, beetles, and spiders as a volunteer or intern alongside professional entomologists. Learn rainforest invertebrate species identification, sampling techniques, population dynamics, and ecology alongside experienced biologists.

www.faunaforever.org

Second pic left, "P. nigriventer". This species isn't native to Peru. Even if it was, P. nigriventer isn't an Amazon species (the AO of this NGO is with in the Peruvian Amazon).

Coming to an end, i - personally - feel it's important to know and address the target audience and - if i am the reader - to keep in mind for which target audience this was written. Since the AB is a hobbyist oriented discussion site information as shared here should be treated under the hobby aspect.
I keep and occasionally breed Phoneutria spp. since the late 90's. I've seen a bit.

These spiders "aren't as bad" as often portrayed by common knowledge sites (e.g. Wikipedia). Nevertheless these spiders are indeed dangerous, plain and simple. Next to venom potency a keeper has to deal with agility, speed and general behavior.
It doesn't matter how venomous or not venomous they are, it's purely academical for the purpose of hobbyist keeping as you don't want to get bitten in the first place.

Data - from which ever source - that may lead to a hobbyist thinking "cool, they aren't as bad, i can just keep one, a bite will not be that bad" can be very dangerous for this particular audience. If there'd ever be a bite accident caused by Phoneutria or - just as bad, Australian funnel web species - in the U.S. or the EU that'll need antivenom for treatment people could learn the hard way that such substances are no staple in most countries (as there's just no general need for it).

Stay safe people!

 

[Outpost31Survivor]

Thanks, i know the UCR site and have collaborated with Rick Vetter in the past.

The statistics quoted above should be used with context.

From the paper i quoted:

However, the true incidence is probably lower than that suggested here since some cases reported as bites by Phoneutria spp. were probably misdiagnosed and likely to have been caused by Ctenus spp.

Meaning the actual number of bite accidents (that got reported, not all are reported) may be lower, impacting %-rates. Then there's this:

The Brazilian states with the highest incidences of Phoneutria spp. bites are Santa Catarina (15 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), Paraná (10 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), and Rio Grande do Sul (3.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), all of
them in southern Brazil (Fig. 7).

If you look at biogeography of the genus, you'll note that not all species are even distributed in those areas.

Also nice to know:

There is little epidemiological information for bites by P. nigriventer in other South American countries of this species’ range. At least 150 bites by Phoneutria spp. in humans are reported yearly in Argentina, essentially in the northeastern region province of Misiones), and are probably caused by P. nigriventer (de Roodt et al. 2011; Argentina, Ministerio de Salud 2012).

and

There have been few published reports of bites by Amazonian species of Phoneutria, and most of them have provided few clinical details.

bottom line:

A literature search turned up no further reports of bites by Phoneutria spp. in Central and South American countries.

Phoneutria spp. cause accidents. Some species, particular P. nigriventer, seems more likely to cause accidents than other species of the genus. Official figures are interesting but need to be treated carefully for various reasons. Species and even genus ID is most often not possible, either because the spider isn't brought in for ID or because of lacking resources.
There are one or two papers (i think one from AM, one from AC) from individual Amazonas states in Brazil, reporting bite accidents and showing pics of specimens. All shown specimens were Phoneutria, but species ID was wrong (which is quite funny as the two species in question look quite different).
Bite accidents in other countries are hard to impossible to track, as there's apparently no recording system. I was surprised to learn that apparently P. nigriventer has caused deaths in Uruguay as well as in Argentina, i found only very little information online mentioning this and no details at all.

Case records seem to be generally rare outside of Brazil. Last year saw the publication of a bite accident caused by P. depilata in Panama:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362109611_Phoneutria_depilata_Araneae_Ctenidae_in_Panama_report_of_a_bite_case_in_Bocas_del_Toro_province_notes_on_distribution_and_public_health_relevance

All in all taken into account the numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt. Same is true for severity statistics, as individual reaction may - and most likely will - be different for different persons (age, sex etc.). The information provided is a "snapshot" of the data available without the intent to be the end of all means.

Especially data from countries outside of Brazil should be treated carefully if individual species are mentioned:

Faun Forever | Invertebrate Research Volunteer Intern | Peru

Peruvian Amazon: Opportunity to study butterflies, beetles, and spiders as a volunteer or intern alongside professional entomologists. Learn rainforest invertebrate species identification, sampling techniques, population dynamics, and ecology alongside experienced biologists.

www.faunaforever.org

Second pic left, "P. nigriventer". This species isn't native to Peru. Even if it was, P. nigriventer isn't an Amazon species (the AO of this NGO is with in the Peruvian Amazon).

Coming to an end, i - personally - feel it's important to know and address the target audience and - if i am the reader - to keep in mind for which target audience this was written. Since the AB is a hobbyist oriented discussion site information as shared here should be treated under the hobby aspect.
I keep and occasionally breed Phoneutria spp. since the late 90's. I've seen a bit.

These spiders "aren't as bad" as often portrayed by common knowledge sites (e.g. Wikipedia). Nevertheless these spiders are indeed dangerous, plain and simple. Next to venom potency a keeper has to deal with agility, speed and general behavior.
It doesn't matter how venomous or not venomous they are, it's purely academical for the purpose of hobbyist keeping as you don't want to get bitten in the first place.

Data - from which ever source - that may lead to a hobbyist thinking "cool, they aren't as bad, i can just keep one, a bite will not be that bad" can be very dangerous for this particular audience. If there'd ever be a bite accident caused by Phoneutria or - just as bad, Australian funnel web species - in the U.S. or the EU that'll need antivenom for treatment people could learn the hard way that such substances are no staple in most countries (as there's just no general need for it).

Stay safe people!

Yes, I wholeheartedly agree with you but the topic has to do with media perpetuation of these spiders. Snakes kill more people especially adults than spiders and scorpions combined because they can deliver a greater more lethal dose of their venom. Regarding scorpion stings the intensity of an envenoming usually depends on the victim’s sensitivity and body mass (the smaller the body mass, comparatively speaking the higher concentration of venom that individual receives), the anatomical location of the sting, the amount of injected venom, and the scorpion species. A snapshot is still a snapshot when speaking of hundreds or thousands of cases.

Medically significant spiders are just that medically significant. I am not removing any label of medical significance.

EDIT: let's not forget this statistic, in 120 years (1903-2023) Phoneutria has been attributed to 10-15 human fatalities but only 2 provided sufficient details to confirm causal nexus. In 96 years (1927-2023), A. robustus has been attributed to 13-14 human fatalities, 0 since the inception of antivenom use in 1980.

 

[The Snark]

However, the true incidence is probably lower than that suggested here since some cases reported as bites by Phoneutria spp. were probably misdiagnosed and likely to have been caused by Ctenus spp.

Yes, I wholeheartedly agree with you but the topic has to do with media perpetuation of these spiders.

Hey guys.... I've read the reports cited and have avoided the entire subject. Vetter saw the red flag and pointed it out. How in heck, in some very primitive circumstances and situations have so many clinically verified bites been documented?
A glance at the WHO statistics of bite and sting mortality world wide, the phoneutria verified bites are off the scale, inclusive of snake bites in the India and Africa regions.
Something is fishy. The corbas, kraits, mambas and vipers just aren't upholding their end of the bargain.

 

[Outpost31Survivor]

Sorry alot of re-iteration here but important nonetheless plus also noteworthy both Crawford and Vetter used Fábio Bucaretchi as one of their sources.

Over the past 100 years, 10 fatalities have been attributed to Phoneutria spiders, mostly among young people (Nentwig and Kuhn-Nentwig 2013). In comparison, similar numbers of fatalities are reported for the widow spiders and Australian funnel-web spiders. While cases of mortality are known, in the majority of cases (90%), Phoneutria envenomation is considered to be mild and only 0.5-3.3% are diagnosed as severe or systemic (Bucaretchi et al. 2008). The effects of envenomation include severe pain, elevated heart rate, arterial hypertension, cardiac distress, shock, muscle tremors, priapism and frequent vomiting (Gomez et al. 2002). These symptoms can be particularly pronounced in children. In Brazil, moderate and severe cases (about 3% of cases) of envenomation are treated with anti-venom but are otherwise treated symptomatically (Bucaretchi et al. 2016).

References:

Bucaretchi F, Bertani R, De Capitani EM, Hyslop S. 2016. Envenomation by wandering spiders (genus Phoneutria). In: Gopalakrishnakone P. (editor). Clinical Toxinology, Springer, Berlin, Germany.

Bucaretchi F, Mello SM, Vieira RJ, Mamoni RL, Souza MH, Antunes E, Hyslop S. 2008. Systematic envenomation caused by the wandering spider, Phoneutria nigriventer, with quantification of circulating venom. Clinical Toxicology 46: 885-889.

Gomez MV, Kalopothakis E, Guatimosim C, Prado MAM. 2002. Phoneutria nigriventer venom: A cocktail of toxins that affect ion channels. Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology 22: 579-588.

Nentwig W, Kuhn-Nentwig L. 2013. Spider venoms potentially lethal to humans. p. 253-264. In Nentwig W (editor). Spider Ecophysiology. Springer, Berlin, Germany.

armed spiders

Introduction

Spiders of the genus Phoneutria, popularly known as wandering or banana spiders, live in Central and South America (1,2). Most of the clinically important bites involving this genus occur in Brazil (1–5), where 2,687 cases were reported in 2006 (6). Phoneutria species are nocturnal, aggressive spiders that do not construct webs. When molested, Phoneutria spiders assume a very characteristic defensive posture and can jump up to 40 cm (1–3). Phoneutria nigriventer, which lives in central-western, southeastern, and southern Brazil, is responsible for most bites by this genus in humans (1–5), and its venom is the most studied of the six Phoneutria species identified in Brazil (5,7–19).

Most bites by Phoneutria spp. cause mild envenoming, with only 0.5–1% being severe, mainly in children (4,5). Despite the medical importance of this genus, there are very few detailed descriptions of systemic envenoming by Phoneutria spp. in adults (20,21). In this report, we describe a case of moderate/severe envenoming caused by a large female P. nigriventer spider following a bite in the neck region. We also provide a quantification of the serum venom level.

Antivenom has been used to treat envenoming by Phoneutria spp. in Brazil since 1925 (20). Current guidelines of the Brazilian Ministry of Health recommend that antivenom be given only to patients who develop important systemic clinical manifestations such as severe arterial hypertension, diaphoresis, convulsions, priapism, pulmonary edema, and shock (3); these manifestations occur in less than 3.3% of cases, including children (4,5). The clinical state of our patient improved rapidly following antivenom administration (within 1–2 h after infusion), in agreement with the outcome of early cases (20,21).

There are no clinical reports on the circulating levels of P. nigriventer venom, although Chávez-Olórtegui et al. (22) found levels of 11 and 26 ng/mL in two patients envenomed by P. nigriventer. However, these authors provided no clinical details of their patients and gave no indication of whether antivenom was administered in the two cases, so direct comparison with the findings for the case reported here is difficult. Using the ELISA described here, we have also measured a similar venom level (67.8 ng/mL) in a fatal case of a 4-year-old boy bitten by a Phoneutria spider in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina (unpublished case attended at the State Poison Control Center of Santa Catarina, in Florianópolis, SC, Brazil). Although the venom level observed in our case was higher than those reported by Chávez-Olórtegui et al. (22), it was nevertheless compatible with that reported for other arachnids, particularly scorpions such as Androctonus mauretanicus mauretanicus and Buthus occitanus (venom levels 15.9–49.7 ng/mL) (27), Androctonus australis (venom levels 17–29 ng/mL) (28), and Tityus serrulatus (venom levels 4.0–50.0 ng/mL) (29).

Conclusion

Bites by P. nigriventer in the neck region can produce moderate/severe envenoming in adults. The early onset of clinical manifestations following such bites may be facilitated by the rapid absorption of venom in this region and result in circulating venom that can be quantified by ELISA. However, further studies, including a large prospective case series of patients bitten by these spiders, are needed to adequately assess the contribution of circulating venom, NO, catecholamines, and other mediators, such as cytokines, to the range and severity of clinical manifestations seen after envenoming by Phoneutria spp.

Systemic envenomation caused by the wandering spider Phoneutria nigriventer, with quantification of circulating venom

Introduction. Bites by Phoneutria spp. spiders are common in Brazil, although only 0.5–1% result in severe envenomation, with most of these occurring in children. Cases of systemic envenomation in ...

www.tandfonline.com

I am not debunking the medical importance of this spider but asserting the media has blown it way out of proportion. They would have the public convinced they are dealing with a spider with toxicity approaching near the level straight out of Arachnophobia (1990 movie)

 

[The Snark]

I am not debunking the medical importance of this spider but asserting the media has blown it way out of proportion. They would have the public convinced they are dealing with a spider with toxicity approaching near the level straight out of Arachnophobia (1990 movie)

I'm going to adopt a middle of the road thinking here. Doing some comparisons -> the US and Australia have significantly less primitive circumstances than the environs phoneutria calls home. They also have much better medical, from response to treatment. Latrodectus, a significant problematic spider is very reclusive. The other major problematics being the Loxosceles, and the Aus mygalomorphs. Even with numerous ER physicians suddenly donning entomologist hats the incidence of medically significant bites is a tiny fraction of some of the reported phoneutria bites.
The next possible explanation is the habits and habitat of phoneutria. They are wandering hunters without question, and are known for going to guns, threat displays, at the slightest provocation. Additionally their range is in a highly populated primarily forest and jungle area so they logically present more of a real and present danger than what the US and Aus has.

Inconclusive. I'm undecided. I want to see more independent studies from the phoneutria end of things.

 

[Outpost31Survivor]

Here is one of the papers both Vetter and Crawford drew from published in 2000. It is free access and provides great charts too.

Abstract and Figures


From January, 1984 to December, 1996, 422 patients (ages 9 m-99 y, median 29 y) were admitted after being bitten by spiders which were brought and identified as Phoneutria spp. Most of the bites occurred at March and April months (29.2%), in the houses (54.5%), during the day (76.5%), and in the limbs (feet 40.9%, hands 34.3%). Upon hospital admission, most patients presented only local complaints, mainly pain (92.1%) and edema (33.1%) and were classified as presenting mild (89.8%), moderate (8.5%) and severe (0.5%) envenomation. Few patients (1.2%) did not present signs of envenomation. Severe accidents were only confirmed in two children (9 m, 3 y). Both developed acute pulmonary edema, and the older died 9 h after the accident. Patients more than 70 year-old had a significantly greater (p<0.05) frequency of moderate envenomations compared to the 10-70-year-old individuals. Proceedings to relief local pain were frequently performed (local anesthesia alone 32.0%, local anesthesia plus analgesics 20.6% and oral analgesics alone 25. 1%). Only 2.3% of the patients (two cases classified as severe and eight as moderate, eight of them in children) were treated with i.v. antiarachnid antivenom. No antivenom early reaction was observed. In conclusion, accidents involving the genus Phoneutria are common in the region of Campinas, with the highest risk groups being children under 10 years of age and adults over 70 years of age. Cases of serious envenomation are rare (0.5%).

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/12573040_A_clinico-epidemiological_study_of_bites_by_spiders_of_the_genus_Phoneutria

 

[The Snark]

From January, 1984 to December, 1996, 422 patients (ages 9 m-99 y, median 29 y) were admitted after being bitten by spiders which were brought and identified as Phoneutria spp.

422. Not just bites but the spiders caught and properly identified. That is placing phoneutria up towards bee sting incidents in many parts of the world.

 

[Outpost31Survivor]

422. Not just bites but the spiders caught and properly identified. That is placing phoneutria up towards bee sting incidents in many parts of the world.

True, but only two were severe envenomations (9 month old, 3 year old). The three year old unfortunately was the single fatality.

There were 8 moderate envenomations.

There were 407 mild envenomations.

There were 5 asymptomatic cases probably dry bites.

20 victims were 70+ y/o.

328 victims ranged between ages 10 y/o and 70 y/o

74 victims were younger than 10 y/o

EDIT: Unfortunately there is a discrepancy regarding the 70+ y/o group because 20% of the 20 of number were moderate envenomation while 80% of this group were mild envenomations according the charts but they are absent from the text.

 

[The Snark]

EDIT: Unfortunately there is a discrepancy regarding the 70+ y/o group because 20% of the 20 of number were moderate envenomation while 80% of this group were mild envenomations according the charts but they are absent from the text.

There is also a huge discrepancy in the number of bites reported. For the most part, in the range of phoneutria the great majority of the population is manual laborer - working class rural people inured to minor troubles such as bites and stings and only seeks medical care as an exception, not a rule. Quite safe to assume most bites go unreported.

But one aspect we can pretty much take as a given; phoneutria is absolutely not on the list of an animal to be kept by your average spider enthusiast. They can and will bite with little provocation, they are competitors with sparassids in the lightning dash department and their venom can pose a serious health hazard. IE, experts only need apply.

 

[Outpost31Survivor]

There is also a huge discrepancy in the number of bites reported. For the most part, in the range of phoneutria the great majority of the population is manual laborer - working class rural people inured to minor troubles such as bites and stings and only seeks medical care as an exception, not a rule. Quite safe to assume most bites go unreported.

But one aspect we can pretty much take as a given; phoneutria is absolutely not on the list of an animal to be kept by your average spider enthusiast. They can and will bite with little provocation, they are competitors with sparassids in the lightning dash department and their venom can pose a serious health hazard. IE, experts only need apply.

No, there is a discrepancy in this actual report.

The text says there 2 severe envenomations (both children), 8 moderate envenomations (8 were children in all in both envenomations classes). Two moderate envenomations were both 54 y/o and 63 y/o. That they were the only two over the age of 10 y/o that suffered moderate envenomations.

But then it says the 70+ y/o group have have a greater frequent rate of moderate envenomations than group > ten y/o to < 70 y/o. Plus the graph says there were 20 envenomations in the > 70 y/o group. 80% were mild, 20% were moderate (4 moderate envenomations unaccounted for in the text above - my first paragraph).

So there must actually have been 12 moderate envenomations (not 8)?

6× 10 y/o and younger
a 54 y/o and a 63 y/o
4× 70+ y/o

EDIT:

Group #1 > 70 y/o - 20 envenomations, 16 mild, 4 moderate

Group #2 > 10 y/o to < 70 y/o - 328 venomations

Group #3 < 10 y/o 74 envenomations, 2 severe envenomations (9 mon, 3 y/o), 1 fatality (3 y/o)

Groups #2 & #3 had a combined total of 8 moderate and a 5 asymptomatic cases.

So all three age group actually combined had a total of 405 out of 422 Phoneutria incidences were mild, harmless bites.

 

[The Snark]

there is a discrepancy

And the professor hands you back your paper with a F+.
Weird. Crawford and Vetter quoted that? It certainly wasn't a peer reviewed white paper. It's crap like that that professors detest. Throws 'suspect' onto the entire paper/

 

[Outpost31Survivor]

And the professor hands you back your paper with a F+.
Weird. Crawford and Vetter quoted that? It certainly wasn't a peer reviewed white paper. It's crap like that that professors detest. Throws 'suspect' onto the entire paper/

Because it was co-authored by highly qualified individuals, some have published multiple peer reviewed papers on Phoneutria spp. But for the best of me I can't believe this oversight happened or why it wasn't caught and properly edited.:



Fábio Bucaretchi
Department of Pediatrics and Campinas Poison Control Center, Faculty of Medical Sciences, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Rua Tessália Vieira de Camargo, 126, Cidade Universitária Zeferino Vaz, 13083-887, Campinas, SP, Brazil

Cláudia Pereira de Deus
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia | inpa · Coordenação de Biodiversidade (CBIO)
senior researcher


Stephen Hyslop
Department of Pharmacology and Campinas Poison Control Center, Faculty of Medical Sciences, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP, Brazil

Paulo Madureira
University of Campinas | UNICAMP · Faculty of Medical Sciences
PhD

Eduardo De Capitani
University of Campinas | UNICAMP · Centro de Informação e Assistência Toxicológica de Campinas; Division of Pulmonology; Department of Internal Medicine
Associate Professor

 

[The Snark]

But for the best of me I can't believe this oversight happened or why it wasn't caught and properly edited.:

Somebody took independent works and rolled them into a composite. Possibly/probably translated excerpts from Portuguese. Reasonable to assume the white papers weren't in English and being a translation the originals cited didn't attempt to proof the composition.

My mother used to tyoe up white papers and even at Cal Tech she had to cope with multiple languages. She engaged translators from the local colleges.

 

[Outpost31Survivor]

Somebody took independent works and rolled them into a composite. Possibly/probably translated excerpts from Portuguese. Reasonable to assume the white papers weren't in English and being a translation the originals cited didn't attempt to proof the composition.

My mother used to tyoe up white papers and even at Cal Tech she had to cope with multiple languages. She engaged translators from the local colleges.

No it is a epidemiological case study:

The hospital records of 421 patients attended by the Poison Control
Center in the university teaching hospital at the State University of
Campinas (UNICAMP) over a 13 year period (January 1984 – December
1996) were analyzed retrospectively. An additional patient, a 9-month-
old child who suffered severe envenomation, followed by our Poison
Control Center and treated at the university hospital of the Pontifical
Catholic University of Campinas, was also included in the study group.
In all cases, the offending spider was identified as belonging to the genus
Phoneutria.

https://www.researchgate.net/public...y_of_bites_by_spiders_of_the_genus_Phoneutria

It is open access paper and if you click this link you do not need to download it just scroll down and read it includes good charts. It does include its references on the last page but this is not a composite work it is a single case study. Do not know how they fudged this one.

 

[The Snark]

I do like the mental image of those researchers doing all their own coordination, collaboration, translating, proofing, compiling, publishing and secretarial work. Visualizing a physician in a hospital hunt and pecking at a keyboard to crank out their medical records.

 

[Outpost31Survivor]

I do like the mental image of those researchers doing all their own coordination, collaboration, translating, proofing, compiling, publishing and secretarial work. Visualizing a physician in a hospital hunt and pecking at a keyboard to crank out their medical records.

Yes, they pulled the detailed patient histories of 422 confirmed and positively identified cases of Phoneutrism containing the patient's hospital admittance, the clinical envenomation classification and symptons, with detailed diagnosis and management whether symptomatic supportive care or serotherapy or both, and the conclusion and possible out-patient follow-up.

Brazilian Ministry of Health clinical classification of spider bites.

Low Health System Performance, Indigenous Status and Antivenom Underdosage Correlate with Spider Envenoming Severity in the Remote Brazilian Amazon

A better knowledge of the burden and risk factors associated with severity due to spider bites would lead to improved management with a reduction of sequelae usually seen for this neglected health problem, and would ensure proper use of antivenoms in ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[The Snark]

A team did, yes. Or rather multiple assistants. Just accessing patient medical records is usually a long tedious process. But things are probably streamlined down there. As stated, low health system performance.

Could you explain " Local pain, edema, erythema, sweating and piloerection for Phoneutria bites and absence of systemic manifestations with identification of the spider for Loxosceles bites."

Absence of... do they mean once Loxosceles is excluded?

An odd mixture of lay person and clinical terminologies. " Life-threatening spider bites, with profuse sweating, drooling, lavish vomiting, priapism, shock and/or acute lung edema for Phoneutria bites, and characteristic lesion plus clinical manifestations and/or laboratory evidence of intravascular hemolysis for Loxosceles."

Life-threatening spider bites, with profuse diaphoresis, salivation, compulsive emesis, priapism, shock (Systemic assumed?) and/or acute pulmonary edema ...........................