A 38-year-old mother trag!cally died on her way to a hospital after being b!tten by one of her children’s pet hamsters.
The woman, whose identity has not been disclosed but is believed to be a Colombian living in Villarreal, Spain, collapsed and passed away just outside a health center.
She was accompanied by her two children, aged 17 and 11, when the incident occurred on the evening of October 11.
Local reports indicate that she was seeking medical attention for the hamster bite when she collapsed near the entrance of the medical center around 10:30 pm.
Despite efforts by medical staff to revive her, she was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities cordoned off the area, and an autopsy is expected to determine if the bite contributed to her sudden death.
While cases of diseases like rabies or bacterial infections transmitted from hamsters to humans are rare, it is unclear if this played a role in her death.
Severe allergic reactions to animal bites, though uncommon, have been documented before. For instance, in 2007, a man in the UK experienced anaphylactic shock after a hamster bite and required hospitalization.
Wendy Barry of the British Hamster Association commented that drastic reactions to hamster bites are extremely rare, noting that hamsters typically do not carry diseases harmful to humans, and there is often more risk of a hamster catching something from a human. The investigation into the woman’s death continues.