January 1988: A 56-year-old woman from Spokane, Washington, feels something bite her on the thigh. She soon becomes nauseated and develops a migrainelike headache. Her thinking becomes addled. In the days that follow, a patch of dead tissue sloughs from the spot where she was bitten. It is at least two weeks before she seeks help, and by then it is too late. She is bleeding from the orifices, even from the ears. Doctors find her blood deficient in several basic components. Her marrow stops making red blood cells. After lingering in the hospital for several weeks, the woman dies of internal bleeding.
There are other cases.
October 1992: A 42-year-old woman from Bingham County, Idaho, feels the burning bite of a spider on her ankle. She, too, develops a headache and nausea, as well as dizziness. The bite blisters and bursts, leaving an open wound that continues to grow. ...
