HEALTH experts have warned that Bahrain does not have stocks of anti-venom to treat Black Widow bites – after the potentially lethal spiders were discovered in a residential neighbourhood.
The GDN reported on Thursday that tests confirmed Black Widows had been found nesting in Barbar, near the Budaiya Highway.
People are now being warned to steer clear of the creatures, especially since Bahrain does not have the formula required to treat bites.
“Their venom is very potent and is very harmful to humans, but in Bahrain we don’t stock the antivenin for them as they are not meant to even be in the Gulf,” Health Ministry Environmental Health Section chief Abdulaziz Alkhedri told the GDN.
The residential compound where Black Widows were first reported last week will now be sprayed with a special pesticide that targets the spiders.
It was initially thought they were the less dangerous Brown Widow, but tests have revealed them to be the more deadly arachnid.
A similar infestation of the spider, which is not native to Bahrain, was first reported in Barbar in 2011 after apparently arriving in the belongings of a European family that had just moved here.
However, it was thought they had been completely eradicated.
“We never had a reason to stock the antivenin in Bahrain as the reported cases three years ago were eradicated quickly and since then there have been no reported cases and no instances of a bite,” said Mr Alkhedri.
He cautioned residents to steer clear of any spider they suspect might be a Black Widow, but said he did not think the problem was widespread.
Scary
A team of specialists has now been assigned to comb the compound where the spiders were discovered and the surrounding area to compile a report, which will determine the next course of action.
Meanwhile, the woman in whose house the Black Widow spiders were discovered described the findings as “scary”.
“It is very scary to think that those spiders were right outside my door,” she said on condition of anonymity.
“I do my own gardening and come across this spider when I am in the garden.
“It is worrying to think that this whole time they have been right there.
“I don’t scare easily and have other spiders in my garden that look scarier, like the wolf spider, but these little spiders (Black Widows) that are not as intimidating are the ones I should be worrying about.”
She also said that she thought she had seen the spiders in other parts of the country.
“I don’t think that this is the only area where they are – I have seen what I thought were Brown Widows in Abu Saiba where my daughter lives and in Hamala, where a close friend of mine lives.
“I will get them to report these cases as I don’t think they know how dangerous it could be.”
A concerned Saar resident also contacted the GDN worried about the lack of anti-venom for Black Widow bites.
“Two years ago the ministry confirmed that we had Brown Widows in our garden in Muqaba,” said the reader, who asked to remain anonymous.
“The papers covered the story back then and seemed to be overly interested in stating who was at fault for the spiders – a European family.
“What we residents of this area are far more interested in is whether there is anti-venom carried in any hospitals in Bahrain for Black Widow bites.
“Brown Widows are less dangerous, but a bite from a Black Widow will kill you – even if you are not young, old or sick – if you do not get anti-venom.”
Black Widow spiders are common in North America and distinguishable by a shiny, black, globular abdomen with a distinctive red hourglass on the underside.
They inject a venom called latrotoxin, which can result in nausea, vomiting, headache, fatigue, muscle spasms and paralysis.
In some cases the bite can prove fatal, particularly among children, senior citizens and the sick.
To report suspected Black Widow sightings, call 17279216.
ahmed@gdn.com.bh