Three young Bolivian boys were hospitalized this month when they were stung by a black widow spider while tending to goats in a small Bolivian village, said a report on Monday.
The boys aged 12,10 and 8 from Chayanta, approached the spider and poked it with a stick, believing a bite by the spider would give them super-powers like comic book superhero Spider-Man.
The first symptoms appeared within minutes. The boys’ mother took them to the health centre. When their health did not improve, they were transferred to a hospital in the town of Llallagua.
When their health failed to improve overnight, they were taken to the Children’s Hospital in La Paz with symptoms such as muscular pain, fever, sweating, and general tremors. The boys improved after the doctors administered a serum against the bite and they were discharged on May 20.
