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A toddler dead, siblings injured by hornet stings
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Vespa affinis: Many fatal stinging cases having been reported across Southeast Asia. (Shutterstock/AgriTech)
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4-year-old girl died and three of her siblings injured after being stung by hornets in Silandit, Padang Sidempuan regency, North Sumatra, on Tuesday.
The four were stung by Vespa affinis deadly hornets after a strong wind broke one of the branches of a nearby teak tree, sending a nest falling in front of the victim’s home on Jl. MB Muda in Silandit on Tuesday afternoon.
“The four apparently were playing in front of the house when the hornets attacked,” Arifin Nasution, a local resident, told The Jakarta Post.
The siblings’ parents, 47-year-old Jarman and 45-year-old Sormi were at the local market when the incident happened.
When they arrived home, the parents found their children unconscious and rushed them to the hospital at around 5 p.m., but the 4-year-old did not make it through the night.
Two siblings, a 19- and 10- year-old, were allowed to leave the hospital on Wednesday, with the 12-year-old sibling still being treated.
Vespa affinis hornets live mainly in lowlands of tropical and subtropical regions of Asia. They nest above ground on a variety of supports such as trees, bushes, shrubs and even buildings.
There are 11 known subspecies across Asia, each with different color variations. They have venomous stings and can sting repeatedly, with many fatal stinging cases having been reported across Southeast Asia.
The venom of the hornet contains a mixture of histamine-releasing factors. The histamine-releasing action of the venom during the first contact with a victim is the most common cause of abnormal changes in bodily functions following hornet stings and other reported manifestations include heart attack, multiple-organ failure, weakness and rapid fatigue of muscles and damages to the eyes’ optic nerve. (dre)
