Mum-of-two dies in front of her kids after being bitten by pet hamster

The 38-year-old woman collapsed outside a health centre near her home in Spain after being bitten by the family's pet hamster. An autopsy is expected to determine if the incident contributed to her death

By: irishmirror.ie

Oct 14 2024
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Mum-of-two dies in front of he

A mother of two tragically collapsed and died in front of her horrified children after being bitten by the family's pet hamster. The 38-year-old woman, who was heading to a health centre near her home in Spain with her two children, aged 17 and 11, for medical attention following the bite, collapsed outside the facility.

An autopsy is set to determine if the incident contributed to her death. It remains unclear whether the autopsy has been conducted as results are typically not made public in Spain.

A local court is overseeing an ongoing investigation into her death. The unnamed woman, a Colombian national, fell to the ground outside the health centre in the city of Villarreal, north of Valencia on Spain's east coast, at around 10.30pm on Friday.

Local newspaper Mediterraneo reported she was heading to A&E there after being bitten by the family rodent. She reportedly collapsed just a few feet from the front door.

The newspaper reports that health workers rushed out to assist her and attempted to resuscitate her but were sadly unable to save her life. Police cordoned off the area before her body was taken away, reports the Mirror.

National Police in Castellon, the provincial capital Villarreal forms part of, could not be reached for comment this morning. In rare cases, rabies and bacterial infections can be transmitted by a bite from an infected hamster.

Pet owners who get nipped should wash the bite to lower the risk of complications. There have been instances where individuals with allergies ended up in hospital with severe breathing issues after a hamster chomp.

Back in May 2007, a man landed in a Redditch hospital, Worcestershire, in anaphylactic shock from a bite. Paramedic Stuart Philp recounted the bizarre event that unfolded when the man's young daughter took the pet out of its cage at their Evesham home, saying: "It was a highly unusual situation."

He explained further: "We got the initial call to an allergic reaction but we didn't realise it was from a hamster until we got there. Calls to allergic reactions are fairly common but it's usually wasp or bee stings or sometimes people are allergic to medication."

He continued: "When the crew went in the man was unconscious. He was still breathing but the situation was clearly life-threatening. He is known to be allergic to penicillin so he keeps medication in the house. He had adrenaline injections in the form of Epi-pens, which many allergy sufferers carry."

Philp added: "He would usually have to take only one but he had taken three and they hadn't had any effect. People react in different ways to different chemicals, It's hard to say why this man reacted in this way. It's just a case of a particular hamster and a particular man – it's very unlucky."

Responding at the time, West Midlands Ambulance Service commented: "The man suffered a serious and severe reaction to the bite. If you have been identified as someone who can have severe reactions it is vital that you and your family know what to do. The man's actions in administering drugs to himself may well have played an important part in his recovery."

Meanwhile, Wendy Barry, formerly with the British Hamster Association, was bewildered, saying: "I have kept hamsters for 20 years and I've never heard of this scenario in this country. Someone's immune system would have to be very, very compromised for there to be such drastic consequences. Hamsters don't normally carry any diseases that would affect humans. In fact, there is more chance of a hamster catching something from a human."

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