Boy, 8, makes venomous black widow bite him 'so he can become Spider-Man'

04 August 2023 , 07:15

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The swollen area near the boy's hand where the spider bit him (Image: Jam Press)

A young Spider-Man fan provoked a highly-venomous black widow spider to bite his hand in the hopes of turning into his favourite superhero.

The eight-year-old boy reportedly found the dangerous insect, which has venom about 15 times stronger than a rattlesnake, under a rock while playing near a river.

He is said to have remembered that the Marvel character Peter Parker was bitten on the hand by a spider in the film series, giving him the powers to become Spider-Man.

According to local health authorities, the unnamed child placed the black widow on the back of his hand and provoked it until it bit him. The incident took place in the village of Vichuloma in Bolivia at the end of July.

Peter Parker reportedly inspired the dangerous act (Jam Press)

Ernesto Vásquez, head of the Zoonotic Diseases Programme for the Departmental Health Service of Oruro, said: "The child, without calculating the risks, picked it up and, according to him, put it on the back of his hand where the arachnid made the respective bite."

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

After the boy allowed the venomous spider to bite his hand, he placed it in a jar and went home. A short time later, the lad began to suffer body aches and severe muscle contractures but still refused to tell his parents about the incident with the black widow. However, as his condition worsened, his mother insisted that he tell her what happened and then he confessed.

He was rushed to the nearest hospital where doctors administered an antidote serum that quickly stabilised the boy’s condition. The health department said: "The serum is a specific antidote against the venom, which neutralises the toxicity of the poison in the person’s body so it does not have any effect."

The boy was rushed to hospital and survived (Jam Press)

After the boy recovered, he was asked to explain what happened and he admitted that he "wanted to become Spider-Man." His mother said that her son is a "huge fan of Spider-Man and loves to watch the movies."

Vásquez said: "We are extremely concerned because it came to our attention from the analysis and responses from the child after he had recovered that he used the arachnid for one simple purpose. He wanted to become Spider-Man."

A similar incident took place in the Bolivian town of Chayanta in 2020 when three children aged 12, 10, and 8 provoked a black widow to bite them with the same objective in mind. Doctors were able to successfully medicate the children on that occasion too.

Rachel Hagan