Abstract
The false widow spider Steatoda nobilis is associated with bites which develop bacterial infections that are sometimes unresponsive to antibiotics. These could be secondary infections derived from opportunistic bacteria on the skin or infections directly vectored by the spider. In this study, we investigated whether it is plausible for S. nobilis and other synanthropic European spiders to vector bacteria during a bite, by seeking to identify bacteria with pathogenic potential on the spiders. 11 genera of bacteria were identified through 16S rRNA sequencing from the body surfaces and chelicerae of S. nobilis, and two native spiders: Amaurobius similis and Eratigena atrica. Out of 22 bacterial species isolated from S. nobilis, 12 were related to human pathogenicity among which Staphylococcus epidermidis, Kluyvera intermedia, Rothia mucilaginosa and Pseudomonas putida are recognized as class 2 pathogens. The isolates varied in their antibiotic susceptibility: Pseudomonas putida, Staphylococcus capitis and Staphylococcus edaphicus showed the highest extent of resistance, to three antibiotics in total. On the other hand, all bacteria recovered from S. nobilis were susceptible to ciprofloxacin. Our study demonstrates that S. nobilis does carry opportunistic pathogenic bacteria on its body surfaces and chelicerae. Therefore, some post-bite infections could be the result of vector-borne bacterial zoonoses that may be antibiotic resistant.
Highlights
The false widow spider Steatoda nobilis is associated with bites which develop bacterial infections that are sometimes unresponsive to antibiotics
In the first stage of this study, we investigated the presence of bacteria on the bodies and chelicerae of 3 spider species. 9 bacteria genera were recovered from A. similis, E. atrica and S. nobilis (Table 1 and data not shown)
Eleven species are related to human pathogenicity (Table 2) and are recognised as opportunistic bacteria, among which S. epidermidis, K. intermedia, R. mucilaginosa and P. putida are designated as class 2 pathogens
Summary
The false widow spider Steatoda nobilis is associated with bites which develop bacterial infections that are sometimes unresponsive to antibiotics. These could be secondary infections derived from opportunistic bacteria on the skin or infections directly vectored by the spider. We investigated whether it is plausible for S. nobilis and other synanthropic European spiders to vector bacteria during a bite, by seeking to identify bacteria with pathogenic potential on the spiders. Synanthropic animals (wildlife associated with human habitats) can be major reservoirs and vectors of pathogenic bacteria. Venomous snakes were identified as reservoirs for Salmonella with potential to contribute to the health crisis through shedding contaminated faeces around homes and vectoring bacteria during bites[1,9]. The potential exists for spiders to harbour virulent b acteria[26,27] and they have been implicated in bite cases that subsequently led to bacterial infections[28]
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