Spiderman is many children’s favorite superhero: Peter Parker (his real name) acquired his powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider. A story that unfortunately inspired an 8-year-old boy from Bolivia…
During a walk, the child (who lives in Vichuloma, a city located in the west of the country) discovers a spider under a stone: by observing it, he notices that it is identical to the one which conferred super- powers to her favorite hero, since she wears the same hourglass-shaped red mark on her back.
Neither one nor two, the child sees it as a unique opportunity to become Spiderman in turn: he therefore grabs the animal, lets it run on his hand… and gets (obviously) bitten. But that’s when reality kicked in: three hours later, the little boy began to suffer from disturbing symptoms – body aches, muscle spasms, severe pain…
A dangerous spider… and present in France!
Because the 8-year-old boy was (in reality) bitten by a black widow spider, an extremely dangerous poisonous spider whose venom contains a neurotoxic molecule – latrotoxin. The bite of a black widow spider can thus lead to death in the absence of medical care, in particular due to respiratory disorders.
The little boy (fortunately) had the reflex to explain the situation to his mother, who immediately took him to the nearest hospital. The child was administered anti-venom, and thus escaped death.
Following this misadventure, the doctors invited the parents to explain to their children that a spider bite can sometimes have serious consequences for health. In France, the black widow (Latrodectus tredecimguttatus) is present in Corsica and in certain regions of the Mediterranean basin.
Source :EFE
