Among the human pathologies produced by venomous animals, bee stings constitute the largest number of accidents in several countries, exceeding the mortality rate caused by other venomous animals such as snakes, spiders or scorpions. The clinical picture after the bee sting may include anaphylaxis or poisoning. The latter is produced by massive attacks and is a serious problem that may put the patient's life at risk. People that are poisoned display hemolysis, rhabdomiolysis and acute renal failure that together with other systemic failures can bring about death. The knowledge of the physiopathological mechanisms involved in the massive attack of bees is crucial for health care professionals as to date we do not have antivenoms with proven clinical efficacy. In this review we include the bee's biological aspects, venom composition and its relation with the occurrence and severity of accidents as well as epidemiological data that can be useful for this type of accidents.
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BMC Ecol Evol
January 2025
Museum of Nature - Hamburg, Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Hamburg, Germany.
The Sydney funnel-web spider Atrax robustus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1877 is an iconic Australian species and considered among the most dangerously venomous spiders for humans. Originally described in 1877 from a single specimen collected in "New Holland", this spider has a complex taxonomic history.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiomolecules
November 2024
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Via Rovelli 50, 71122 Foggia, Italy.
a South American ant species from the Formicidae family (subfamily Myrmicinae), has recently established a stable settlement in Europe, raising public health concerns due to its venomous stings. The venom of is rich in bioactive molecules, particularly piperidine alkaloids such as solenopsin A and peptides (Sol 1-4). These compounds have been implicated in various health applications, including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antitumour activities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Prog
January 2025
Grupo de Nutrición, Facultad de Salud, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia.
Objective: The expansion of human activities in northern Colombia has increased human-snake encounters, particularly with venomous . Given the limited knowledge of systemic envenomation effects and previous studies focusing only on early murine symptoms, this investigation aimed to describe the time-course physiopathology of envenomation following intramuscular injection .
Methods: Venom was inoculated in the gastrocnemius muscles of Swiss Webster mice, and blood, urine, and tissue samples were taken at different times to evaluate lethality and biochemical markers of renal function and oxidative stress.
Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg
January 2025
University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, 32610 USA.
Background: Venomous snakes are among the most lethal animals worldwide and envenomation survivors face lifelong morbidities. Envenomation is colloquially considered highly prevalent in the US state of Florida, yet envenomation trends here are currently unassessed.
Methods: We present a comprehensive analysis of causes, characteristics and treatments of Florida's snake envenomations via medical records review of envenomated patients presenting to a major academic medical centre between 2002 and 2022.
Nat Commun
January 2025
Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
Understanding the process of genetic adaptation in response to human-mediated ecological change will help elucidate the eco-evolutionary impacts of human activity. In the 1930s red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) were accidently introduced to the Southeastern USA, where today they are both venomous predators and toxic prey to native eastern fence lizards (Sceloporus undulatus). Here, we investigate potential lizard adaptation to invasive fire ants by generating whole-genome sequences from 420 lizards across three populations: one with long exposure to fire ants, and two unexposed populations.
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