Bite envenomation by Latrodectus geometricus (Araneae: Theridiidae) spiders in Malaysia

We report two confirmed human bite cases by Lactrodectus geometricus , also known as the brown widow spider. These are the first reported bite envenomation incidents by L. geometricus in Malaysia. The incidents occurred in Tawau, Sabah and Paka, Terengganu. Both men were bitten on their ear while pu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Tropical biomedicine Vol. 38; no. 4; p. 568
Main Authors:	Mokhtar, A S, Muslimin, M, Mat-Saat, A Y, Ghazali, A-R M, Ismail, A K, Abdul-Aziz, N M
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Malaysia 01-12-2021
Subjects:	Animals Bites and Stings - epidemiology Humans Malaysia - epidemiology Male Spiders Malaysia
Online Access:	Get more information
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Summary:	We report two confirmed human bite cases by Lactrodectus geometricus , also known as the brown widow spider. These are the first reported bite envenomation incidents by L. geometricus in Malaysia. The incidents occurred in Tawau, Sabah and Paka, Terengganu. Both men were bitten on their ear while putting on motorcycle helmets. The spiders appeared to have nested in the helmets. The dead specimens were collected and sent to the Invertebrate and Vertebrate Neurobiology Laboratory, Department of Parasitology, Universiti Malaya for identification. The species identity was confirmed by DNA barcoding.
ISSN:	2521-9855
DOI:	10.47665/tb.38.4.100