Tourist hospitalised by venomous spider bite on penis

A tourist who fell asleep on a beach in New Zealand following a naked swim has been admitted to hospital after a venomous native spider bit him on his penis.

By Paul Chapman in Wellington
Published: 7:00AM BST 14 May 2010

The 22-year-old Canadian, who had earlier left his clothes in the sand dunes while he went for a "skinny dip", then spent 16 days in hospital suffering from potentially fatal heart inflammation.

"He woke to find his penis swollen and painful, with a red mark on the shaft suggestive of a bite," Dr Nigel Harrison, who treated the man, writes in the latest New Zealand Medical Journal.

"He rapidly developed generalised muscle pains, fever, headache, photophobia [light sensitivity] and vomiting.

"It was a rather nasty, ill-placed bite," Dr Harrison said.

By the time the tourist reached the nearest hospital, in the northern town of Dargaville, his penis was severely swollen, his blood pressure was up and his heartbeat racing.

The following morning, chest pain and other symptoms developed and doctors diagnosed he had been bitten by a katipo, a rare native spider related to the Australian redback and North American black widow spiders.

The man was treated with anti-venom medicine sent from the regional hospital in Whangarei.

Although his condition rapidly improved the heart problems persisted.

As a result, he was treated at Whangarei Hospital then transferred to the much larger Auckland Hospital before returning home to Canada.

"He was discharged after a total of 16 days in hospital. On review he was generally well," the medical journal report says.

It is the first known case of myocarditis, or heart inflammation, occurring after a katipo spider bite.

The katipo, a Maori name meaning "night-stinger", is on New Zealand's endangered species list.

The spiders usually bite only in self defence.

The female has a black body with a white bordered red stripe on its back, while the male is white with black stripes and red diamond-shaped markings.

Only two deaths from katipo bites have been recorded, both in the 19th century.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/newzealand/7722296/Tourist-hospitalised-by-venomous-spider-bite-on-penis.html