DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

It is well known that there are no venomous snakes in the Dominican Republic. In fact, there are very few venomous insects at all. Yes, there are black and brown widow spiders, scorpions, centipedes and tarantulas, all of which are generally scarce. There are bullfrogs the exude a very toxic poison if attacked. And, up until now, that was about it, except for fire ants perhaps.

Now, the brown recluse spider is suspect to have arrived on a ship that docked in Monte Cristi after having been in Brazil. There is speculation merchandise arriving on wooden pallets from Brazil that was unloaded in Manzanillo, the Dominican Republic could have introduced the spider. At least 50 bites have been registered so far, mostly along the Northwest Line in the area or in Mao and Montecristi.

The spider is considered “medically important” since its bite causes necrosis of the area...