Eddy De Mulder (60) from Ninove (East Flanders) has been declared brain dead in hospital after being attacked by a nest of Asian hornets. Daily Het Laatste Nieuws reported the news that the family have meanwhile confirmed. “Eddy wasn’t allergic to wasp stings, but the amount of venom was probably too much,” says his cousin Guy.
Eddy De Mulder from Voorde, a borough of Ninove, was about to feed his pony last Thursday evening when dozens of Asian hornets suddenly flew out of a nest above the stable door. Eddy was stung dozens of times and suffered cardiac arrest.
“He walked over to his wife, took off his T-shirt and just managed to say that he was being attacked. After that, his head and throat swelled up, causing him to start choking and go into cardiac arrest due to a lack of oxygen,” explains his cousin Guy De Mulder.
Eddy was resuscitated and rushed to hospital. There, he fell into a coma. “The hospital informed us today that they are discontinuing the pain medication. No brain activity has been detected,” says Guy. “The immediate family are now being given time to say their goodbyes in peace.”
“Eddy was a hard worker, having just turned 60; he was very sociable and well-liked in the village. The family is deeply devastated.”
Not allergic
Eddy’s family wants to use this story to warn others. “We want to prevent other people from having to go through the same thing,” says Guy.
“Eddy wasn’t allergic to wasp stings, but the Asian hornets attacked in such huge numbers that the amount of venom was probably too much. He was stung dozens of times, including on his neck and throat, which meant he couldn’t breathe.”
“He must have been trying to fetch a bale of hay from the barn and probably bumped into the hornet’s nest that was hanging above the doorway. A beekeeper has since removed the nest. He confirmed that they were Asian hornets. He told us he’d never seen such a large nest. He said it contained as many as 5,000 hornets.”
According to hornet experts, no one in Belgium is known to have died after being stung by an Asian hornet. “The problem is that people don’t always know which species of wasp has stung them,” says hornet expert Dominique Soete.
“There may well already have been fatalities caused by Asian hornets in Belgium without this having been officially confirmed. In countries such as France and Spain, such incidents are tracked much more closely.”