A mum whose little girl complained of a stomach ache only realised the child had been stung in the belly by a scorpion when the mum was stung as well.

Bianca Oliveira Silva, 5, was tragically stung in the belly and then on the hand by the same scorpion in a rural area of the municipality of Tremedal in the north-eastern Brazilian state of Bahia.

She was rushed to hospital, but died from the stings.

An older cousin of the child, identified as Natalice Pereira de Amorim, who works as a medic in the area, said that the little girl’s mum, Fernanda Oliveira Silva, was just about to go to bed when she was stung by the scorpion. She then realised that the scorpion had also stung her daughter, who had complained of a stomach ache.

She said: “The child slept in a bed in the same room as her parents. At bedtime, she started to complain that she had a stomach ache.”

After the mother was stung, they checked the girl and realised that she had also been stung, in the belly and also on the hand.

Medics initially sent her to the local Adelmario Pinheiro Hospital, but because of the severity of the sting, she was later transferred to the Base Hospital, located in Vitoria da Conquista.

The mother recovered from the sting but she and the rest of the family have been devastated by the loss of the little girl.

Natalice said: “Bianca was their only daughter. She was really smart for age, and her parents are understandably devastated by the loss.”

The funeral has already taken place.

Experts have warned that any child under the age of seven is likely to suffer more severely as a result of a scorpion sting. In adults, bites tend to be accompanied by local pain but rarely death.

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