A 10-year-old boy in Australia was bitten by the world’s deadliest spider - a funnel-web - but made an “incredible” recovery after being given the largest dose of antivenom in the nation’s history.
Matthew Mitchell started sweating and began to froth at the mouth after he was bitten on his hand by the male spider while putting away his shoe.
He was rushed to hospital and recovered after receiving twelve vials of antivenom, believed to be more than any other bite victim in history.
“I’ve never heard of it, it’s incredible,” said Tim Faulkner, a wildlife expert. “And to walk out of hospital a day later with no effects is a testament to the antivenom.”
The bite occurred while Mitchell was cleaning a shed with his father at their house north of Sydney.
Describing the bite, Mitchell told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph: “It [the spider] sort of clawed onto me and all the legs and everything crawled around my finger and I couldn’t get it off.”
Darren Mitchell, the boy’s father, said: ‘He went from pain in his finger until getting the tingling up his arm ... but he stayed conscious the whole time.”
The spider was taken to a wildlife park which will milk its venom for use in future rescues.
The funnel-web is often considered the most deadly in the world because of its fast-acting venom, which can kill within as little as 15 minutes.
According to the Australian Museum, no confirmed deaths have occurred from a funnel-web bite since an antivenom was introduced in 1981.
Last year, a 22-year-old died in Australia from a suspected bite by a redback spider. It was believed to be the nation’s first death from a spider since a fatal funnel-web attack in 1979. ends
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