A Salisbury woman died Tuesday after being stung by bees on Bethel Drive. The initial 911 call came in as an allergic reaction around 4 p.m.

It has been reported the woman, Dianne Cupp, was stung multiple times and taken to the hospital, where she later died. Personnel from Rowan County EMS and Salisbury Fire Department responded to the home.

The woman was having problems breathing and when medical responders arrived the dispatcher disconnected the call, said 911 Communications Director Rob Robinson.

Robins said communications records indicate medical personnel performed CPR and the woman “spontaneously” came back and was transported to the hospital, Robinson said.

Reportedly Cupp and/or her son were in the yard and may have stirred a nest of bees. She later went into cardiac arrest while at the hospital.

Dr. Aerik Williams, of Allergy Partners of Statesville, is trained in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of asthma and allergic diseases. Williams works primarily out of the Salisbury office.

Williams said typically if someone is stung and they eventually die as a result it is because they have an allergy to the venom. It is not known if Cupp had a known allergy.

He added one of the things that happens is the cells get stimulated and release histamine that can cause the blood pressure to drop and decrease blood flow to the heart.   

One of the things that can happen after an allergic reaction is the body recognizes the venom as a foreign substance and releases histamine. Once the person has been stung the person can have difficulty breathing, develop hives or loss in consciousness because of low blood pressure.

Williams said the treatment for a severe allergic reaction to an insect sting is epinephrine, not Benadryl or any other antihistamine, which can take up to 30 minutes to take effect.

“Something that works immediately to relieve the wheezing, the drop in blood pressure, the decrease in blood flow to the heart, the shortness of breath and swelling of the tongue is epinephrine,” he said.

He added that most people who are stung don’t have an allergic reaction and if that is the case there’s no need for further medical treatment.

But for the person who gets hives, has difficulty breathing, tongue swelling, they should call 911 immediately.

Williams said venom allergy shots can prevent future reactions to stings.

“Right now bees are kind of in a frenzy in a way. There is not as many flowers because the summer is over and they become a little bit more aggressive in the fall trying to provide food for the queen,” said Darrell Blackwelder, county extension director with the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service in Rowan County.

Bees, yellow jackets and wasps are attracted to proteins and sweets, Blackwelder said.

For instance, when people are tailgating and they have hot dogs and hamburgers or sweet tea or sodas, insects will likely hover.

Bees also follow movement and bright, vivid colors, Blackwelder said, with similar colors as flowers.

“That’s why beekeeping suits are neutral,” he said.

If someone is sitting stationary and a bee comes at them, he recommends people not flail their arms, but sit still.

“They’ll go away,” he said.

However, if a swarm of bees or other insects are circling a person, Blackwelder recommends the person move away as quickly as possible.

He said people should be aware that yellow jackets typically bore into the ground, but can be in compost piles, in pots and above ground. Yellow jackets are also not as aggressive early in the morning because of the lower temperature, he said, they are slower too.

“They won’t go away until we have multiple hard frosts and they are gone,” Blackwelder said.

In 1991, the Post spoke with Dianne Cupp after the man convicted of killing her husband in a drunk driving accident was killed in a car accident three years to the date of her husband’s 1988 accident.

An attempt to speak with a member of the Cupp family was unsuccessful.

Contact reporter Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253.