Florida Man Dead From Six-Month-Old Poisonous Spider Bite

Many suffer from arachnophobia, otherwise known as the fear of spiders and other arachnids, but often times the fear is self-inflicted because the small invertebrate creatures rarely pose a threat in inhabited lands. But a recent news report could exacerbate such fears.

A man by the name of Ronald Reese of Lakeland, Florida died on February 16^th at the age of 62 from a six-month-old brown recluse spider bite. Reese underwent six months of treatment for the spider bite on his neck, which developed into an abscess and pressed on his spinal cord.

The brown recluse spider is most commonly found in the southern and central United States. They live in homes and other man-made structures, secluding itself in dark places. Their bites are venomous and result in long-lasting infections that require medical treatment. The spiders only bite when they are disturbed or threatened, which can occur inadvertently when rolling over in bed or cleaning in a dark area.

Mr. Reese suffered the brown recluse bite on his neck when he was replacing walls and ceilings in an old house. He was tearing down parts of the structure and was bitten by a spider. At the time he did not know it was a brown recluse because he never tested what type of spider bit him. The medical records show that the infection was similar to those caused by brown recluses, as reported by the Associated Press.

All spiders carry venom to kill their prey, but only a few of the venomous bites are harmful to humans, with the brown recluse being one of them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes the brown recluse bite beginning with two small puncture wounds and eventually developing into a blister. Fatalities are rare, which is why Mr. Reese's case is widely covered. There have only been two reported deaths from brown recluse spider bites from 2001-2005.

But the recovery time from the bites has proven to be slow. Mr. Reese experienced complications for six full months before his death. Last year it was reported that a 10-year-old girl suffered a brown recluse spider bite in New Mexico and the lesion it left took two surgeries and 56 days to heal.

More details on Mr. Reese's death along with information about brown recluse spiders can be found in this Associated Press article via Fox News.