Branson Riley Carlisle died after being bitten by a brown recluse spider. Over the weekend, a 5-year-old boy named Branson Riley Carlisle passed away after being bitten by a brown recluse spider that is often found in the Southeast and in Alabama.
Branson Riley Carlisle died at the age of 5. On Sunday, Branson Riley Carlisle of Albertsville, Alabama was bitten by a brown recluse spider, according to The Inquisitr.
The boy’s parents, Jessica Carlisle and A.J. Mays, rapidly took him to the Marshall Medical Center. But throughout the night, his condition worsened and he was transferred to Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children, where he died.
Carlisle and Mays also brought the spider to the hospital, where it was identified as a brown recluse spider, according to Claudette DeMuth, director of marketing at Marshall Medical Center. DeMuth said in a statement:
“It had the classic markings of a brown recluse.It is a rare, rare situation for someone to die of a spider bite in our country.”
Branson Riley Carlisle’s pastor, Jeff Stanford, revealed that the Carlisle/Mays family (including his mother, father, grandparents, aunts and uncles) is devastated by the loss.
He also went on to reveal that the family had pest control come to the house once a month, and they have been told that the cold weather has caused spiders to come inside.
Ann Slattery, who is the director of Regional Poison Control Center Children’s of Alabama, said that it was a good thing that Branson Riley Carlisle’s parents brought the spider to the hospital, so they could determine the specie.
According to the University of California Riverside researcher, Rick Vetter, the brown recluse that killed little Carlisle, doesn’t spin a web, its defense is to bite.
The author of “Spiders of the Eastern United States: A Photographic Guide,” shared:
“They come out at night after all the lights are off and creep around.They live in houses, especially old ones.They come out at night after all the lights are off and creep around. They also like hiding in piles of old clothes or newspapers or old woodpiles.”
He explained that the brown recluse spider venom is called a cytotoxin and it causes the skin and what’s beneath to erode. The venom can also cause the breakdown of red blood cells. Vetter added:
“Usually what happens the skin becomes dead and the tissue around the bite blisters up.Sometimes the doctors will have to debride the area leaving a cavity. Normally it’s a highly localized thing. The symptoms often start with itching 15 to 20 minutes after the bite. Sometimes the site looks like a bullseye with a blister and a bruise around it.”
Slattery said that last year, there were 89 calls about suspected brown recluse bites, but in the majority of cases, it was some other condition. She also revealed that after 32 years on the job, this is the first death caused by a brown recluse bite to her knowledge.
In 2004, a family of 4, living in Lenexa, Kansas found 2,055 brown recluse spiders in their house in 6 months. While the spiders crawled on the walls, the carpet, in the sinks, and bathtubs, none of the family members or pets were bitten.
Branson Riley Carlisle was laid to rest on Wednesday.
