An Indian woman has died after being bitten by a poisonous ant in the Saudi Arabian capital.
Soosy Jeffy, 36, who was from Adoor in Kerala, was bitten on March 19 at her residence and was undergoing treatment, the Khaleej Times reported on Wednesday citing her relatives. She died on Tuesday.
According to experts, a few ant species can inflict poisonous bites that can prove fatal for a full-grown adult.
According to hospital officials, Susy's blood pressure level and pulse were precariously low when she was admitted to the hospital.
"Her family said that she was bitten by some kind of an ant, the husband said he had seen the ant himself. But we cannot verify this, since no tests could be done to verify if there was poison in her body. There was no visible bite mark. She had a history of asthma. We gave her medical help to improve her BP, she was on ventilator support," a hospital official said.
“Another person who had gone into anaphylactic shock was admitted to the hospital a few weeks ago. In that case too the relatives had said that it was an ant bite that caused the shock. That patient too died,” the official said.
According to Manorama, Susy is a native of Adoor, while her husband Jeffy belongs to Pathanamthitta district.
Although it is unclear what kind of ant bit Susy and the details of her medical treatment is yet to be known, reports say that the venom of certain ants including red fire ants could prove to be fatal to those allergic.
Earlier in January 2017, a woman died in Bolivia, after she was tied to a tree infested with poisonous fire ants. The woman who was accused of stealing a car, was forcefully tied to the tree by a mob. Mirror.uk reported that although the woman was rescued by the police, she died of breathing difficulties.
