A chilling tale from Brazil: a man succumbed to a venomous spider bite while out with friends. Here’s what happened.
On July 9, Vinicius and his crew of six were chilling at Sambass Cafe in Cairu, Bahia, Brazil, after a fun boat trip. Tragedy struck the next day when Vinicius began to feel terribly sick, deteriorating rapidly over the following days.
One of his buddies shared how Vinicius had chosen to sit on a wicker sofa at the cafe, despite a spider cocoon being visible on it. His friend warned him, but Vinicius sat down anyway.
“It was on this little wicker sofa, man. I even told the guy to take it off. That’s their cocoon. He sat on the little sofa and I sat on a separate chair,” the friend recounted.
By the very next day, Vinicius’ condition worsened.
Vinicius experienced severe symptoms like breathlessness and chest pains, prompting an urgent hospital visit. There, it was confirmed he had been bitten by a spider, as evidenced by the blackening flesh around the bite.
The venom led to necrosis in his body. Cleveland Clinic defines necrosis as “the medical term for the death of your body tissue,” which can impact various body parts due to several factors, including venom.
Despite medical efforts, Vinicius tragically died on July 14.
The cafe’s owner, choosing to remain anonymous, expressed shock, stating, “This has never happened in 20 years, we have not had any news of this, no client came to us, no one looked for us, no one asked for help.”
Authorities are now reviewing CCTV footage from the cafe to piece together the details of the incident.
The exact species of the spider remains unknown, but it’s worth noting that Brazil hosts the infamous Brazilian wandering spider, among the deadliest in the world.
The National Centre for Reptile Welfare explained, “Wandering spiders are a family of spiders (Ctenidae) that includes the Brazilian wandering spiders, the most well-known and infamous of the family. The genus Phoneutria contains 9 species of which the Brazilian Wander Spider Phoneutria fera is the most famous. The genus name is from the Greek φονεύτρια, meaning ‘murderess’.”
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