Savory - Arachnida 1977

292 IV. DE ARACHNOLOGIA
disease, that music is the only cure, and that it shows a tendency to
reappear. This is followed by an account of the spider itself: and a very
full description of the symptoms and treatment of the effects of its bite.
The really surprising thing about tarantism is that a quite genuine
belief in its relation to a harmless spider should have persisted for so
long and until so recent a date as the middle of the nineteenth century.
As we have seen, denials of its began as early as 1667, but more
interesting than denial is an
of what is really a remarkable
phenomenon.
It appears that the first writer to offer such an explanation was the
anonymous editor of an English version of an extensive "Natural
History" by Jo Frid Gmelin of Gottingen. This was published in 1795
and contains the following paragraph:
"The patients are dressed in white, with red, green, or yellow ribbons,
these being their favourite colours; on their shoulders they cast a white
scarf, let their hair fall loose about their ears, and throw their heads as far
back as possible. They arc exact copies of the ancient priestesses of Bacchus.
The orgies of that god were no doubt performed with energy and enthusiasm
by the lively inhabitants of this warm climate. The introduction of
Christianity abolished all public exhibition of their heathenish rites, and
the women durst no longer act a frantic part in the character of Bacchantes.
Umvilling to give up so darling an amusement, they devised other
pretenses. Accident may have led them to the discovery of the tarantula;
and upon the strength of its poison, the Puglian dames still enjoy their
old dance, though time has effaced the memory of its ancient name and
institution.''
Successors to the tarantula are undoubtedly the black widow spider,
Latrodectus mactans, some species of the genera Loxosceles and Chiracanthium
and a dozen or so scorpions of the family Buthidae.
The symptoms of Latrodectus bite are alarming and widespread.
Beginning as a slightly flushed swelling at the site of the bite, pain is
soon felt in the armpits and groin. This grows in severity as it spreads to
the thighs and torso. There is nausea, followed by cramp, copious
sweating, difficulty in breathing and irregularity of heartbeat. The
symptoms gradually diminish and may disappear in three days, but in
severe cases they may persist for a fortnight.
The bite of the six-eyed Loxosceles reclusa is followed by conditions
which, first described in 1872, were traced to the spider only in 1957.
Unlike the bites of Latrodectus, the effects are localized, beginning with
a blister at the site of the wound. The skin turns purple and black over
an area of three to four square inches, and as it falls away there is left a
pit that slowly fills with scar tissue.
34 . .MEDICAL ARACHNOLOGY 293
The differences bet\veen the two bites can be shortly described by
saying that the former is neurotoxic and the latter is haemolytic.
A spieler that has been described as the most dangerous European
after Latrodectus is Chiracanthium punctorium. It is inclined to enter
houses in the autumn, and Maretic (1975) has described the consequences
of its bite. There is severe pain, reddening and small local
necroses near the wound, followed by enlargement and tendemess of
the regional lymphatic nodes. He adds that "chiracanthism" certainly
occurs in many countries, but is not recognized as such by physicians
who arc not familiar with the symptoms.
The sting of a dangerous scorpion resembles both in effects and symptoms
the bite of a Latrodectus. The patient's temperature rises and
falls as in fever, he may become delirious and nausea may provoke
vomiting. It is desirable to check the spread of the poison by the use of
a tourniquet where this is possible. Pain may be relieved by barbiturates
or by the injection of calcium glucosatc.
During recent years much research has been directed towards the
preparation of effective antitoxins or antivenins. Their use has been
most successful in cases of spider bites. Against scorpion stings a difficulty
is introduced by the fact that the ditTcrences between the species of
scorpion seem to necessitate different antivenins, and identification of
the attacker by its victim is seldom either possible or reliable.
011e of the most widespread troubles that are traceable to an arachnid
is "scrub typhus", endemic in east Asia. This disease is due to
Rickettsia, transmitted by the bites of the trombiculid mites close
relatives of the "harvest-bug" of this country, and normally an ectoparasite
of the native rats. It was \Veil known to our troops in India; in
1934 there were reports of 108 cases, yet in Burma and Ceylon it was, at
that time, almost a medical curiosity. The disease became much more
serious during the Second \Vorld \Var, and from 1941 the arrival of
large numbers of soldiers in the jungle and other sparsely populated
areas gaYe the mites the opportunity to feed on man as well as on rats.
The result was that scrub typhus became second only to malaria as a
feature of the campaign; in 1944 there were 5,000 cases, of which 350
were fatal.
The problem was attacked in the field and in the laboratory; a
Scrub Typhus Research Unit was instituted, with headquarters at
Kuala Lumpur, and by the end of the \\'ar the disease was under
control. The antibiotic chloromycetin clears up the trouble in a clay or
two, and as a protective measure clothing may be treated with an acaricide
such as dibutyl phthalate.