Infiltrated plaques resulting from an injury caused by the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris): a case report

Abstract

Several species of octopus are considered venomous due to toxins present in the glands connected to their “beak”, which may be associated with hunt and kill of prey. Herein, we report an accident involving a common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) that injured an instructor during a practical biology lesson and provoked an inflamed infiltrated plaque on the hand of the victim. The lesion was present for about three weeks and was treated with cold compresses and anti-inflammatory drugs. It was healed ten days after leaving a hyperchromic macule at the bite site. The probable cause of the severe inflammation was the digestive enzymes of the glands and not the neurotoxins of the venom.

Hong Kong Poison Information Centre: Annual report 2018

“…There are no confirmed reports of paralysis after common octopus's bite or consumption. Similar to our case, octopus bite wound was reported in causing persistent swelling and erythema lasted for about 1 month 3 . Although there was no microbiological or histopathological examination performed in our case or the case report in the literature, the clinical progress was not typical of that of wound infection.…”

“…Similar to our case, octopus bite wound was reported in causing persistent swelling and erythema lasted for about 1 month. 3 Although there was no microbiological or histopathological examination performed in our case or the case report in the literature, the clinical progress was not typical of that of wound infection. We believed that prolonged local reaction was probably inflicted by the octopus's venom.…”

“…Although octopus seldom bites, its beak can inflict lacerations to human, where the venom contained in the salivary gland penetrates the body. 3,4 The venom contains digestive enzymes and proteinaceous neurotoxins that immobilize prey. With the exception of the tetrodotoxin found in blue-ringed octopus, the common octopus venom causes paralysis in crustaceans but not in human.…”

“…It has a beak with its mouth at the centre point of the eight limbs. Although octopus seldom bites, its beak can inflict lacerations to human, where the venom contained in the salivary gland penetrates the body 3 , 4 . The venom contains digestive enzymes and proteinaceous neurotoxins that immobilize prey.…”

Toxicity and Toxin Composition of the Greater Blue-Ringed Octopus Hapalochlaena lunulata from Ishigaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan

“…It has been known for a long time that several species of octopus secrete from the posterior salivary glands a substance that is toxic to prey organisms [1,2]. In humans, the bites of several species of octopuses can cause pain around the wound area [3,4,5], and occasionally even fatal lesions. Symptoms of such lesions include numbness of the face as well as acute and progressive skeletal muscle weakness due to the venom from the posterior salivary glands, which is connected to the beak.…”