A father whose hand turned black and started to rot after being bitten by a deadly spider died of massive organ failure just four days later. He had to go to five hospitals to get proper treatment for the spider bite before he passed away.
Gustavo Occelli was bitten by a highly venomous Chilean recluse spider (Loxosceles laeta) on September 6 in the city of Benavidez in Argentina, according to Yahoo. The 52-year-old dad and husband started to feel nauseous and weak following the spider bite.
Occelli was then taken to the Benavidez Immediate Diagnostic Hospital (HDI) by his family for treatment. However, doctors told him that the necrotic lesion on his right hand was an insect bite. According to his daughter Melina, he was prescribed painkillers and an antibiotic.
Family wants justice after dad's death due to a spider bite
Gustavo decided to visit the Pacheco General Hospital as he already had a fever and had started to feel worse. He was told by doctors there that he would have to wait five days for the antibiotic to take effect.
Melina said that her mother told her what happened with the window staff, who refused to provide care to his father. She said they excused themselves because her father already had an indicated treatment.
Gustavo was then attended to by doctors at the hospital at his family's insistence before he was given penicillin intramuscular injection and ibuprofen so that he could return home. Despite the treatment, his condition continued to worsen, and he started to vomit blood.
Tired of the poor health care he allegedly received at previous medical centers, Gustavo's family decided to take him to the Santa Catalina de Benavidez clinic, where the spider bite victim reportedly fainted.
He was then urgently referred to the Garin General Hospital in Buenos Aires for treatment. Melina said her dad was treated quickly there since he was already very weak and could not walk.
She said they did tests that indicated that her father had internal bleeding, which doctors believed came from his stomach. They also found that his lungs were compromised by pneumonia.
Gustavo dies because of a bite from a Chilean recluse spider
Gustavo was transferred to Escobar Hospital, where he reportedly died on September 9 due to a cardiac arrest. Occelli's family publicly condemned both the Pacheco General Hospital and the HDI's alleged misconduct and negligence after stating that Gustavo had no previous health conditions.
The family then claimed that the medical officials did not request any test to be carried out on Gustavo so that the deadly spider bite could be detected early. The Chilean recluse spider is a highly venomous spider native to South America. The arachnid can be found in Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Chile, and Ecuador.
