Australian hospital closes after poisonous spider invasion: report

Sydney - An invasion of venomous spiders has forced an Australian hospital to evacuate patients and temporarily close its doors, reports said Wednesday.

Authorities decided the infestation of redback spiders at Baralaba Hospital in Queensland state's Banana Shire was too dangerous for patients, Australian Associated Press reported.

It said repeated attempts to oust the arachnids had failed, so patients and staff would be moved to another facility to allow a thorough fumigation of the 10-bed hospital.

The black spiders with a red stripe, close relatives of the black widow, are about 2-4 centimetres (0.8-1.6 inches) long and common across Australia.

Their bites can cause severe pain, muscle spasms and death, although no fatalities have been recorded since an anti-venom was introduced in the 1950s.

Queensland's rural director of nursing Ellen Palmer said the spiders had taken up residence in the hospital after becoming agitated by recent wet and humid weather.

"I've been up here seven months and I know they have had five months of fighting redbacks at Baralaba," she said.

"We can't have redbacks in the hospital because it's too big a risk." -- AFP

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