Brown recluse deaths are reported, but none were confirmed by spider ID

What was said

"However, has it? We don't really know because there were eight reported deaths in the US that were attributed to brown recluse bites between 1983 and 2004. None of these were actually confirmed by spider identification."

Host Erin Welsh says the medical literature contains reports attributing eight US deaths (1983–2004) to brown recluse bites, but none of the cases were confirmed by identification of the spider. She adds that while severe systemic effects are described, it remains unclear how often (or whether) confirmed brown recluse envenomation is fatal in practice.