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Envenomation by Australian Hymenoptera: Ants, Bees, and Wasps

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Clinical Toxinology in Australia, Europe, and Americas

Part of the book series: Toxinology ((TOXI))

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Abstract

The venoms of the order Hymenoptera, comprising ants, bees, and wasps, contain numerous toxic substances including a vast array of peptides, which serve to cause cell lysis and disrupt intracellular processes. Australia has numerous indigenous species of all Hymenoptera, but the imported European honeybee (Apis mellifera) and the European wasp (Vespula germanica) have added significantly to the burden of allergic reactions expected principally from stings by members of the indigenous ant genus Myrmecia. Although Hymenoptera toxins from multiple stings may damage organs and tissues especially muscle, hepatic, and renal and disrupt coagulation, a large number of toxins are allergenic and share significant homology between species and between bees and wasps. The overwhelming clinical effects of humans are allergic reactions varying from minor local inflammation to life-threatening IgE-mediated anaphylaxis which tends to progress with repeated venom exposures. However a state of immune tolerance may be achieved by regimens of repeated exposure to small quantities of venoms or recombinant allergens (venom immunotherapy). The diagnosis, monitoring, and prediction of the immunoreactivity of individual allergic victims are major difficulties in clinical management but facilitated with wider adoption of serum tryptase measurement and new techniques of in vitro basophil activation testing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Intensive Care Unit, The Royal Children’s Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    James Tibballs

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  1. James Tibballs
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Correspondence to James Tibballs .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Hawaii Cancer Center, and Department of Pathology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

    Carl-Wilhelm Vogel

  2. Department of Emergency Medicine New Mexico School of Medicine, New Mexico Poison Center, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

    Steven A. Seifert

  3. Laboratory of Immunochemistry, Division of Development and Innovation Butantan Institute, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Denise V. Tambourgi

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Tibballs, J. (2018). Envenomation by Australian Hymenoptera: Ants, Bees, and Wasps. In: Vogel, CW., Seifert, S., Tambourgi, D. (eds) Clinical Toxinology in Australia, Europe, and Americas. Toxinology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7438-3_69

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