When 19-year-old Ollie Kay of Hornsby was bitten by a funnel-web spider earlier this year, it was antivenom produced through the Australian Reptile Park’s milking program which saved his life.
This week the grateful young man visited the Somersby Park with his family to thank keepers first hand.
After waking in the middle of the night with burning pain on his forearm in February, Kay pulled back the sheets to reveal a large, black spider crawling across the bed.
After his girlfriend quickly filmed the spider, an internet search proved it was a deadly male funnel-web spider, capable of killing an adult in less than 90 minutes.
As they rushed to hospital, Kay experienced sweating, nausea, heart palpitations and light-headedness.
He was given two vials of antivenom as his family sat fearfully in the waiting room.
His father, John Kay, said the scariest part of the ordeal was when he heard doctors call for urgent resuscitation after a suspected cardiac event when the troponin levels of his son’s heart peaked at an alarming level.
After receiving the antivenom, Ollie Kay felt the effects immediately.
“It felt so much better … it was very fast-acting,” he said.
Within 30 minutes, his headache, nausea and light-headedness were completely gone.
Kay remained in hospital for three days of monitoring before being cleared for any heart damage with multiple scans.
“The panic came in after when we realised just how serious it was and what could have happened if we had been there 10-15 minutes later,” John Kay said.
“That’s when, as a parent, you think wow – that was really close.”
Kay was extremely lucky to survive the bite, as the pressure-immobilisation technique wasn’t administered until they reached the hospital.
A pressure bandage, along with immobilising the affected area or limb, should be applied immediately after a suspected funnel-web spider bite.
If a compression bandage is not available, a makeshift bandage can be made with stripes of cloth.
The Australian Reptile Park is the only facility in the world to milk funnel-web spiders for their venom to produce lifesaving antivenom.
Staff were thrilled to meet Ollie Kay and his family when they toured the funnel-web spider milking facility with Operations Manager Billy Collett and shared their story.
The group visited the funnel-web spider milking room and witnessed the tedious process of milking funnel-web spiders, using a tiny pipette to extract single drops of venom at a time.
The family also saw the Park’s venom processing facilities, where the venom is frozen and freeze-dried, before being sent to Seqirus CSL in Melbourne where the final stages of antivenom production take place.
Collett said the team at the Park puts an incredible number of hours into the spider venom milking program.
“To get enough raw venom for just one vial of antivenom, we need to milk 150 spiders,” he said.
“It was incredibly rewarding for the team to meet a funnel-web spider bite survivor – to get to shake the hand of someone who’s still here today because of the work we do.
“It motivates us to keep doing what we do every single day, to continue our venom program and save lives.”
Collett said he hoped sharing the story would spread awareness of spider bite first aid and the Park’s contribution to producing venom that creates lifesaving antivenom.
The program relies on public donations of funnel-web spiders.
“As the current funnel-web spider season is drawing to a close, we need everyone to be on the lookout for them and learn how to safely catch them and bring them into one of our drop-off locations,” he said.
He also urged the public to brush up on spider bite first aid.
“Even if you’re unsure of what type of spider has bitten you, it’s crucial that you treat it as potentially life-threatening and seek urgent medical attention or call 000,” Collett said.
Last week, the Park announced the completion of the ground-breaking of its new venom milking facility which will produce lifesaving antivenom from the venom of terrestrial snakes and funnel webs and will allow visitors to witness the venom milking process firsthand.
It is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Terry Collins