UpdateIn the Nazaretdreef in Lier, a group of walkers was attacked by European hornets this afternoon. One person reacted particularly badly to the attack and even had to be resuscitated. The emergency services called up transferred the man in question to the University Hospital of Antwerp, where he is now in the Intensive Care Department. Five other people were taken to the Lierse Heilig-Hart Hospital.
LOOK. A walker was resuscitated after being attacked by European hornets.
The hornet attack happened in a walking path that ends in Nazaretdreef. “There was an organized walking tour through the area here on Sunday,” says Liers acting mayor Ivo Andries (Open VLD). “After the attack, the emergency services arrived en masse. One person even had to be resuscitated. The police closed off the walking path where the hornets struck as quickly as possible to avoid additional incidents. The fire brigade then went in search of the nest of the hornets to safely remove it. The nest turned out to be in a tree cavity. The fire brigade injected a toxic powder into it. It can take up to 48 hours before the last hornet of the nest is dead. In the meantime, the path will remain closed.”
LOOK. This is what a European hornet looks like
Zimmer tour
The walk to which acting mayor Andries referred was the Zimmertocht. It was organized by walking club De Kleitrappers from Terhagen (Rumst). “We had mapped out several circuits in Lier,” says Leo Poortmans of De Kleitrappers. “The problems with the hornets occurred on the 24 kilometer course. In the morning there was still nothing to see at the scene of the accident, but around noon several hikers were attacked. Six of them showed an allergic reaction, one even a very severe one. Anyone who was stung and did not react allergically received assistance from the Flemish Cross or was transferred to the Lierse out-of-hours GP station.”
Erna was one of the walkers and testifies to VTM news: “It was very nasty. My head was full of hornets, my hands too. Luckily I had my sweater on, because you can’t get rid of those animals. I was really panicked.”
Out of nowhere
The man who needed CPR was a member of the walking club De Scheldetrappers from Kruisem. “We were here with 38 people. Five of them were stung by a hornet and eventually two of our members were hospitalized”, sighs chairman David Denies. “Obviously, we are most concerned about the man who was taken to the University Hospital. Hopefully everything will be fine soon.” The condition of the victim is still unclear at this time. Alain D’hondt of the Scheldestappers responds: “We started walking because they were everywhere on us, we had to pull the horns off our bodies. It was unbelievable, they even pierced your T-shirt. In my flight I fell. I lost my glasses…”
Walker Lieve Daneels from the Land van Rhode from Oosterzele was also stung, but did not have to be hospitalized. “It was a very frightening experience,” she says. “Those hornets really came out of nowhere. No idea what triggered them, but suddenly they attacked in large numbers. I got one stab in my finger and several stabs in the head. By the way, it was noticeable that the people who were near me were also all poked in the head. I’ve had a wasp sting once in the past, but it can’t be compared to a hornet sting. This is much more painful. Even taking a few painkillers hardly helps. But in a way I was lucky, because there was no major allergic reaction.”
Wasp expert: “Punish, because European hornets are less aggressive than Asian ones”
According to wasp exterminator Kevin Verbeek, head of the Asian hornet expertise center of the Flemish Bee Institute (VBI), this is the first time that resuscitation is required in Flanders after a sting from a hornet. “It may be that that person would also have an allergic reaction to stings from common wasps, but the sting of the hornet is six millimeters, so it goes deeper into the skin and then the poison is more likely to enter the bloodstream.
The images of the attack clearly show that it concerns European hornets and not Asian hornets. This is remarkable, because the European hornets – which you can recognize by the Belgian tricolor on their body, thanks to black-yellow-red colors – are generally much less aggressive than the Asian hornets, which are mostly black with some yellow stripes . European hornets will only react – like all wasps, for that matter – if someone disturbs their nest. These hikers did that by accident, so they just had bad luck: in the wrong place at the wrong time. The tactics of attacks are also different for the European hornets than for the Asian ones. In the case of the European species, a dozen ‘guards’ will launch an attack on the disturber, while in the case of the Asian species all hornets in the nest go to battle.
Then you get swarms of hundreds of insects and that is much harder to escape.” According to Verbeek, it depends from person to person how far-reaching such an attack is. “There are people who simply walk home after ten wasp stings, while others suffer much more.” (SSB)
LOOK. The son of one of the walkers testifies about the attack: “It was certainly 100 European hornets”
LOOK. How dangerous are hornets?
LOOK. This is how you recognize the difference between the Asian and European hornet:
Advance Asian hornet unstoppable in Flanders: “Question of time before there are deaths”
Two people in hospital after stabbing Asian hornet: how dangerous is he really? 5 questions answered (+)
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