American Susi Feltch-Malohifo’ou, a resident of Utah state, went with her son on a trip to Mirror Lake in California. They planned to catch fish. It was probably during this trip that she was bitten by spiders, carrying a dangerous bacterium. Now the woman is fighting for her life in the hospital. Doctors have already surgically removed almost 5 kg of her body.
- Some species of spiders can carry dangerous bacteria
- In the case of the American woman, it is likely that she was bitten by a brown hermit
- The woman developed serious complications as a result of meeting the arachnids
- More current information can be found on the Onet homepage.
The spiders had stung her 15 times. At first she did not realize it at all, only after returning home did she feel bad. When she woke up the next morning, she had a headache and a fever. She did a COVID-19 test, but it turned negative. Her health deteriorated rapidly and her symptoms worsened to such an extent that a visit to the hospital was necessary.
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Doctors had to remove parts of her body
In the hospital, doctors found 15 bites from one or more spiders on the body of the American woman. Seven of them were infected with a dangerous carnivorous bacterium that caused Susi’s necrotizing fasciitis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the disease is caused by many types of bacteria that are most often transmitted by spider bites, especially brown hermit. So doctors decided that most likely this species of spider is responsible for the disease of the woman.
A bacterial infection causes the soft tissue beneath the skin’s surface to rot, including fat, connective tissue, and muscles. The infection can occur anywhere in the body depending on the location of the insect bites, but is most commonly seen on the perineum, genitals and extremities. Untreated necrotizing fasciitis can lead to sepsis and organ failure. If the infection is not treated with antibiotics, parts of the body may need to be surgically removed.
This was the case with Susi. The wound after the spider bite had grown to about 30 cm long and about 20 cm wide and was located in the lower back. Doctors had to remove more than 4,5 kg of her tissue. The bacteria also damaged her stomach and colon. Feltch-Malohifo’ou has already had six operations and is still in the intensive care unit. It is not known how long this will be necessary.
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