The brown recluse spider, whose venomous bite caused near-nationwide panic a decade or so ago, could be back to weave its web of fear again.
At least five Columbus people have been bitten recently by what they believe to be the recluse, a small brown spider that derives its name from its shyness.One of the victims is hospitalized, his leg swollen.
Sometimes called the brown fiddler spider because of the violin-shaped marking on its back, one recluse also was sighted in Cleveland within the past week or so.
Alan Smith, Ohio State University graduate extension research associate, said Friday the spiders have a very toxic venom that causes necrosis, or cell death.
"I've heard the bite can be worse than that of the black widow," he said. "The cell death spreads. The skin will slough off, and it can leave a pretty nasty scar."
Two Columbus men were bitten by different spiders while camping in rural Delaware County last weekend. Both have what they call craters in their flesh where the bites occurred.
Richard Dencer's arm was swollen to nearly triple its normal size. Antibiotics have somewhat reduced the swelling, but the crater is getting worse.
"It's getting deeper and deeper," he said.
Dencer's fellow camper was bitten on the leg.
"His leg is all swollen up," said Dencer. "You can just about stick your little finger in the crater."
A Columbus woman said she knows of a third man who is hospitalized after having been bitten on his leg at the restaurant where he works.
"They got a shipment of something in, and there was a nest of spiders in it," she said. "He opened it up and got bit. His leg is swollen to the point where it looks like it's ready to burst."
Richard Sams, 29, Columbus, is being treated at Doctors Hospital North for what his doctors believe is a brown recluse spider bite. Sams said he was bitten June 7 while working at the Rhodes State Office Tower in downtown Columbus.
He was bitten on the knee, which swelled up and "is as big as your head," he said.
Doctors made a 6-inch incision in the knee Thursday and are draining the poison. They plan to close the incision Tuesday.
He said the posion has spread down to his ankle. Sams also said his doctor told him of another man who is being treated at Doctors Hopsital West.
"I guess that guy got bit real bad," said Sams.
"It's an awful bite," agreed OSU's Dr. James Tennenbaum, an expert on stinging insects. "Certainly the reaction is terrible. It gives you local irritation and swelling. It's a toxic kind of reaction from the chemicals in their bite. You can treat it locally with cortisone and antihistamines."
The extent of the problem cannot be determined, though, because doctors are not required to report spider bites to the Ohio Department of Health.
"That's what it sounds like to me," said the department's Bob Restifo when the symptoms of the Columbus men were described to him. "It's the only spider (bite) that would cause the skin to rot away like that."
Restifo, who works in the department's vector-borne disease unit, said it's been a long time since he's heard of a brown recluse spider bite in Ohio.
"I'd have to say the '70s," he said.
It was just about a decade ago when the spider last made headlines. People from almost all over the country were reporting bites that put a scare in nearly the entire nation.
And although considered rare in Ohio, the brown recluse may now be back.
"A lot of times they hitchhike in from other states," said Smith. "Maybe they're making their way up here. A lot of spiders will migrate into an area and become established."
No specific anti-venom is available, but healthy people usually recover in less than a week, Smith said.