A black widow spider hiding in a bag of grapes sent a Vermont woman to the hospital recently when it crawled out and bit her on the arm.
The 21-year-old woman bought the grapes at Shaw’s, a retail grocery store in
Colchester, Vermont, the woman's mother told WPTZ.
The woman and her mother caught the spider and took it to the hospital where a nurse confirmed that it was a black widow.
WCAX-TV reported that the unidentified woman spent the night at the University of Vermont Medical Center after being treated. She is expected to fully recover.
Shaw’s spokesman Brian Dowling released a statement on the incident, according to WPTZ.
“The health and safety of products we sell, and our customers, is our first concern,” the release said. “We have been closely monitoring the situation and been in contact with the family. We replaced product in the customer's refrigerator as a precaution and took immediate action to inspect the product at the customer's store. We also are inspecting the product in all of our stores and have been in touch with the supplier, which has an extensive food safety management system in place.”
The Northern New England Poison Center told WPTZ a black widow’s bite can feel like a pinprick.
Patients bitten by black widows typically suffer muscle pain depending on how much venom is released. In severe cases, anti-venom may be needed.
Another Vermont Shaw's shopped reportedly brought home a black widow in 2004, though the spiders are generally found in the southern United States.
“They're often very highly associated with humans,” University of Vermont biologist Ingi Agnarsson told WPTZ. “There are areas that have black widows very commonly inside houses. Just goes to tell you that they are often common inside of houses but they very rarely bite.”
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