scorpions

[ilrifugio]

I'm not really sure if it belongs under staying safe abroad..... A friend of ours is building and while he was digging, he came up with... a scorpion.  I looked the beast up on the internet, and it is the golden scorpion, popularly known as 'death sting' ( Leiurus Quinquestriatus ).
The info on the internet is not really reassuring. Does any of you have had any unpleasant experience with this type (which seems to be very common in Fethiye, and the whole region from Marmaris to Antalya)?  Do the hospitals here know how to take care of a patient stung?  Can one get antivenum privately? I have/found a picture of the crawly, but I do not know how to post it. The scorpion is 7-8 cm big, has a yellow/sand colour

[Scunner]

From the latin name you gave I tried to search - is this him?

[Highlander]

Typical - beaten to it again

[ilrifugio]

Yep, that's the bugger....  Leathal???

[Scunner]

In my opinion there is no nastier living creature on the planet than the scorpion. It is entirely made from front to back
to hurt you with no redeeming features whatsoever.

Also known as the cuddly "Deathstalker", Wikipedia suggests it is one particularly nasty git:

The deathstalker is regarded as a highly dangerous species because its venom is a powerful cocktail of neurotoxins, with a low LD50 rating. While a sting from this scorpion is extremely painful, it normally would not kill an otherwise healthy adult human. However, young children, the elderly, or infirm (such as those with a heart condition or those who are allergic) would be at much greater risk. Any envenomation runs the risk of anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction to the venom. If a sting from Leiurus quinquestriatus does prove fatal, the cause of death is usually pulmonary edema. The German pharmaceutical company Twyford and the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur both make an antivenom intended for the treatment of deathstalker envenomations.

One component of the deathstalker's venom, the peptide chlorotoxin, has shown potential for treating human brain tumors [1]. There has also been some evidence to show that other components of the venom may aid in the regulation of insulin, and could be used to treat diabetes.

Neurotoxins in L.quinquestriatus venom include the following:

    * Chlorotoxin
    * Charybdotoxin
    * Scyllatoxin
    * Agitoxins type 1, 2 and 3


Take my advice, run...

[ilrifugio]

my friend is building his family home for himself, his wife AND 2 KIDS (3 and 5 years old)  If / when they find this out, they probably will..... the running away, I mean!    So, how is the situation with antivenom availability???  Has anybody had a close (toooo close) encounter yet?  And if so, what was the script like of the actions that followed?

[Scunner]

The only positive thing I can think to say is that I'm not entirely convinced that one that is common to the area and the one described above are the same? I thought the local ones were supposed to be relatively tame (as scorpions go!).

Are your friends building in Ovacik area?

[ilrifugio]

yes in ovacik.  I did some more reading now, and the finer the grips (or whatever you call these 'hands') the more poisonous.  They are really very fine, in comparison to some other types I saw on the net...

[ilrifugio]

'Scorpion stings are common in Turkey due to its geographical location, climate and socioeconomic structure. Scorpion envenomation cases are a considerable public health problem in all regions of the country. Important health-threatening scorpions in Turkey are Androctonus crassicauda, Leiurus quinquestriatus, Mesobuthus gibbosus and M. eupeus, all of which belong to the Buthidae family. They are described to be potentially dangerous to humans. So far, there is no study about scorpion sting incidence covering all geographical regions of Turkey; therefore, in this study, we analyzed the frequency of scorpion sting cases in the country. A total of 24,261 scorpion sting cases were reported during 2005. Most of which (about 80%) occurred in the Southeastern Anatolia (30.4%), Mediterranean Sea (24.9%) and Aegean regions (23.5%), where medically important scorpion species are found. The sting cases mostly occurred during the summer period. Our results suggest that scorpion stings are an important problem in Turkey. This simple descriptive study will help develop interventions to prevent scorpion stings, which should take local sting cases into consideration'...  (Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases
On-line version ISSN 1678-9199
J. Venom. Anim. Toxins incl. Trop. Dis vol.14 no.1 Botucatu  2008)

[ilrifugio]

that figures! the info on scorpions in Turkey is banned!!!! http://www.ntnu.no/ub/scorpion-files/links.php  scroll down in this link to 'scorpions in Turkey' :  Banned.