Abstract

Black widow spider bites are uncommon in South Africa, but it is important for clinicians to be aware of the clinical presentation in order to initiate appropriate treatment. This case highlights the presentation and management of a middle-aged gentleman who presented to the Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital following a spider bite. The bite was later confirmed to be that of a black widow spider. The patient presented with the typical symptoms of latrodectism – autonomic dysfunction, muscle rigidity and cramps – and was managed symptomatically with a favourable outcome.

Details

Title
Black widow spider bite in Johannesburg
Author
Thomas, Teressa Sumy 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Kemp, Alan 2 ; Roberg, Kim Pieton 3 

1  Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa 
2  Centre for Emerging, Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Sandringham, South Africa 
3  Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa 
End page
88
Publication year
2018
Publication date
Sep 2018
Publisher
AOSIS (Pty) Ltd
ISSN
23120053
e-ISSN
23131810
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/23120053.2018.1453271
ProQuest document ID
2200892557
Copyright
© 2018 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons  Attribution – Non-Commercial License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.