Snakebite knowledge among healthcare workers in Gabon: A health facility-based cross-sectional survey

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  Snakebite knowledge among healthcare workers in Gabon: A health facility-based cross-sectional survey Abstract Background Snakebite envenoming remains a neglected health issue in many countries, including Gabon, where the limited availability of snakebite-specific training, clinical guidelines, and essential resources at health facilities may lead to gaps in healthcare workers’ knowledge and confidence and the use of non-recommended treatment practices. This study aimed to assess healthcare workers’ knowledge of snakebite management in the Ogooué et des Lacs department of Moyen-Ogooué province in Gabon. Methods From June to August 2023, we conducted a cross-sectional survey targeting all healthcare workers in Ogooué et des Lacs who may be involved in snakebite management. We collected information on prior training, self-perceived knowledge of snakebite management, symptom recognition, clinical management practices, and snake identification. Knowledge was assessed using 10 true/fa...

Recluse Spider Season Is a Myth

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Recluse Spider Season Is a Myth

The venom of recluse spiders can be dangerous, but the idea of there being a “season” when these arachnids invade homes and bite is unhelpful and wrong.

THIS STORY ORIGINALLY appeared on WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish.

Summer arrives, and with it comes an arachnophobic furor—frantic reports about the intrusion of recluse spiders into our homes. Also known as fiddlebacks or violin spiders, these are arachnids of the genus Loxosceles. They’re found in warm areas across the world, including many parts of the USA, and particularly in Mexico, which has the greatest diversity of recluse spiders in the world, with 40 different species.

Headlines declare that the start of May is “recluse spider season,” and that people need to watch out. It’s true that in their fangs these spiders carry a potent venom, which under certain circumstances can be lethal, but really they are elusive creatures that almost always seek to remain unnoticed. We should not get carried away with anti-fiddleback hysteria, much less replicate it. Such anxiety is unscientific, says Diego Barrales Alcalá, the creator of the arachnid identification platform @Arachno_Cosas. The idea of a supposed season of recluse spiders, promulgated by the media, lacks evidence.