4 children stung by poisonous scorpions in 2 days

Four children were treated for poisonous yellow scorpion stings in the southern Negev desert over Tuesday and Wednesday, two of them infants with serious injuries.

All four are being treated at Soroka Hospital in Beersheba.

On Tuesday, a 1-year old girl was brought in unconscious and in serious condition from a Bedouin encampment near the Negev city of Arad, while a 2-year old girl from Ramat Beka, south of Beersheba, was admitted, also in serious condition.

On Wednesday, a 5-year-old boy came into the Arad clinic suffering from moderate injuries and a 4-year-old boy from the Bedouin city of Rahat was treated for light injuries.

The Israeli yellow scorpion, also commonly known as the death-stalker, is a highly venomous species common in southern Israel.

While its venom is not lethal for adults, it can be deadly for the young, elderly and infirm.

The scorpion is drawn out into the open by the kind of high temperatures that have been scorching Israel over recent days.

Israel is home to 21 species of scorpion, five of which are poisonous.