Australian spider bite sends man to Dutch hospital
A Leeuwarden man ended up in the hospital on Thursday after being bitten by an exotic spider that entered his home in a package from Australia. He is doing well after receiving treatment, the Telegraaf report. The man was bitten while he was asleep on Wednesday night. At first he thought it was a mosquito bite, but on Thursday morning he found the spider walking on the ceiling. The man googled the spider and found a picture of a very poisonous Australian redback spider. A short time later he started feeling nauseous and his face felt numb, so he called the emergency services. Officers took him to the hospital.
The spider has since been caught by experts. Further research shows that it is not a redback spider, but a crab spider. "A dangerous spider, but far less dangerous than the redback spider. The crab spider is not lethal", Alie Leys, employee at reptile shop Repticura, said to the Leeuwarder Courant. The spider is currently being held in the store.
