On Feb 11, 1:33 pm, John Savage wrote:
ABC radio was just talking about the white-tailed spider, saying that
the infection its bite sometimes causes can best be treated using the
same drug as is used for treating leprosy. (Come to think of it, there
does seem to be more than a passing resemblance between the two.)

A spider expert said that the flesh-eating infection is not unique to
the white-tailed spider and can be caused by other spiders. He said we
shouldn't kill white-tail spiders--they help to keep down the numbers of
red-backs and funnel-webs.
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)

The latest studies don't show any links between white tail spiders and
necrotising arachnidism. ( http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/
bhcarticles.nsf/pages/White_tailed_spider?OpenDocument )
On the other hand, they don't actually know what causes the problem.
I've seen another hypothesis (can't remember where) that suggested it
might be related to bacteria the spider is carrying. ie: The spider
has 'dirty' fangs, and these cause the infection, rather than the
actual venom. No idea if they ever managed to prove/disprove the
theory though.