Abstract
Spider bite cases hitherto reported in various districts in Japan during the period from 1954 to 1974 were sixteen. Spiders of medical importance were nine spcies; Araneus ventricosus, Theridion tepidariorum, Latrodectus hasseltii, Oedothorax insecticeps, Coelotes modestus, Coelotes sp., Clubiona sp., Chiracanthium japonicum and Heteropoda venatoria. The largest spider among them is Heteropoda venatoria and bites were most frequently caused by Chiracanthium japonicum. Of sixteen bite cases, seven were caused by male, six by female and the rest by unidentified spiders. The most frequent bites occurred at a moment of catching spiders directly by hands during the warm season from May through August. The spider bites occurred most frequently in upper extremities, especially on right fingers. These cases were classified by the severity of clinical manifestations into four types, symptomless, mild, moderate and severe. There were four bite cases caused by four spider species in symptomless, two cases by two species in mild type, five cases by four species in moderate type and five cases by two species, Latrodectus hasseltii and Chiracanthium japonicum, in severe type. Latrodectus hasseltii has been found from Ishigaki and Iriomote islands in Ryukyu islands, south Japan. The clinical manifestation by L. hasseltii reported was characterized by burning pain at bite lesion, discomfortness over chest, anxiety for death and dyspnea. The clinical couse by Chiracanthium japonicum among cases in the present study was severe in four cases and the rest three were moderate, mild and symptomless. Severe cases were caused by all male spiders. This clinical picture in severe cases was characterized by headache, nausea, anorexia, general malaise and disturbance in gait due to sharp pain over the lesion. The problem in the treatment was difficulty in relieving continuous sharp pain and generalized symptoms by any anodynes or sedatives.
