Document Detail


Distribution of the brown recluse spider (Araneae: Sicariidae) in Georgia with comparison to poison center reports of envenomations.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  19198513     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Georgia is on the southeastern margin of the native range of the brown recluse spider, Loxosceles reclusa Gertsch and Mulaik. The brown recluse is not a common Georgia spider and has limited distribution in the state. Using recent submissions, previously published records, and examination of museum specimens, we document the spider's presence in 31 (19.5%) of Georgia's 159 counties, with almost all being found in the northern portion. The spider was collected almost exclusively north of the Fall Line (a transition zone separating the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain geological provinces). Only two locations in the southern Coastal Plain province produced L. reclusa specimens; these southern finds are considered spiders that were transported outside their range. There were six finds of the non-native world tramp species, L. rufescens (Dufour), three south of the Fall Line. In conspicuous contrast, over a 5-yr period, a Georgia poison center database recorded 963 reports of brown recluse spider bites from 103 counties. These figures greatly outnumber the historic verifications of brown recluses in the state for both specimen quantity and county occurrence, indicating improbable spider involvement and the overdiagnosis of bites. In the southern half of the state, medical diagnoses of brown recluse spider bites have virtually zero probability of being correct. Bite diagnoses should be made with caution in north Georgia given the spider's spotty distribution with low frequency of occurrence.
Authors:
Richard S Vetter; Nancy C Hinkle; Lisa M Ames
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of medical entomology     Volume:  46     ISSN:  0022-2585     ISO Abbreviation:  J. Med. Entomol.     Publication Date:  2009 Jan 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2009-02-09     Completed Date:  2009-03-06     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0375400     Medline TA:  J Med Entomol     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  15-20     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA. rick.vetter@ucr.edu
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Animals
Arachnidism / epidemiology*
Databases, Factual
Diagnostic Errors
Geography
Georgia
Humans
Poison Control Centers*
Population Density
Spiders / physiology*

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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