A 35-year-old man was rushed to the hospital in Lefkada on the afternoon of Holy Thursday, suffering from severe leg pain after being bitten by a Black Widow spider, officials say.
The man, whose details have not been made public, was bitten when he put on his work boots, left overnight, outside his home, near a mound of firewood.
The man initially dismissed the bite as a pebble or thorn, and continued to proceed to his work. But about 30 minutes later, the pain intensified, prompting him to remove his shoe and discover a 2-3 centimeter Black Widow spider still on his leg, according to local news outlet ilefkada.gr.
The pain quickly became unbearable, and despite not having any known allergies, the man rshed to a local hospital in Lefkada.
This incident follows a similar case in July 2023 in the Trikala region, which prompted the Regional Unit of Trikala to issue a public warning about the Mediterranean Black Widow, or Latrodectus tredecimguttatus, one of the two dangerous spider species in Greece.
Sotirios Nikolakakos, head of the Public Health and Social Welfare Directorate of P.E. Trikala and a public health doctor, highlighted the risks associated with the spider’s poisonous bite, which is said to be 15 times stronger than that of a rattlesnake.
The female spider, characterized by its black color and 13 red spots on its back, can grow up to 1.5cm, while the male is only about 0.7cm.
The venom contains a potent neurotoxin, making it both painful and potentially dangerous.