Identification of Widow Spider in East Azerbaijan, Iran: case series

The globally-distributed widow spiders are among the venomous and dangerous species of arachnids. Widow spider bites are prevalent in the majority of countries. Since widow spiders had not been previously spotted in the Eastern Azerbaijan Province, we decided to report the cases. This is the report of 4 patients, who had been bitten by widow spiders around Kaleybar and Ahar regions in Eastern Azerbaijan Province, Iran. The patients, complaining of black colored spider bite, had been dispatched to the Emergency Medical Services Center of the province. Based on the patients’ symptoms, we suspected the bites belonged to widow spiders. We visited the residence of the patients and finally managed to hunt the spider in the grain fields near Abish Ahmad, a subsidiary to the City of Kaleybar, where three cases had been bitten. Examinations of the hunted spider in the zoology laboratory of Tabriz University revealed its species as Latrodectus dahli. Bite of the widow spider results in stimulation of the nervous system, hypertension, tachycardia, muscle spasms, and severe pains in patients, which need hospitalization, palliative care, and in some cases antidotes.