A 57-year-old male Kaua’I resident was rescued from the Kalalau Trail in Hawaii after a spider bite led to a rapidly worsening infection that left him unable to safely self-evacuate.
According to the County of Kaua’i, the Kaua’i Fire Department dispatch received a text-to-911 message from the hiker at approximate 9:44 am on Wednesday, October 29th. The text indicated that the infection had spread and leading to both fever and weakness, leading to the need for rescue.
Personnel with the Līhu‘e Fire Station aboard Air 1 were able to respond to the incident just before 9:45am. First responders arrived on scene at the Kalalau Beach landing zone and located the hiker. The individual could walk, but was in clear visible distress.
Rescuers assessed the hiker on scene and loaded him into the helicopter before taking him to the Waimea softball field. From there, he was transferred to Waimea fire station personnel and American Medical Response before being brought to a local hospital for further medical care. The scene was cleared just after 10:55 am.
Hawaii has many spider species throughout its islands, but very few are known to bite or cause harm to people. The two spider species of concern that can be found in Hawaii are the Southern Black Widow and the Brown Widow Spider. Both have venom that would require a visit to the doctor after being bitten. It’s not clear what type of spider bit the hiker in this incident.
