Freak irukandji jellyfish stings fairly frequent (and they're moving south)

[depakid]

A marine stinger scientist says freak accidents involving deadly jellyfish will happen from time to time.

A 45-year-old man was stung on the face by an irukandji jellyfish on a commercial ship in north Queensland on Sunday. Rescuers say he was 25 metres above the ocean surface, but sea water containing one of the tiny stingers splashed against his face. Dr Lisa Gershwin says jellyfish are turning up where people least expect it. "This isn't the first freak accident that we have had fisherman when they pull the line in," she said.

"An irukandji had been pulled in with the intake pipes for a saltwater pool on a cruise ship - one person swimming actually got stung by the Irukandji."

Overfishing and pollution

Dr Gershwin is convinced overfishing and pollution are causing jellyfish blooms in Australian waters. She says turtles and fish normally keep stinger numbers down, but she says overfishing is tipping the scales in favour of jellyfish. "Around the world there is very, very good data correlating jellyfish with overfishing," she said.

"When you overfish areas, it gives jellyfish a chance to take over. "Pollution kind of knocks everything else and jellyfish are kind of immune to pollution so they are the last man standing."

More: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/12/2790241.htm

Irukandji jellyfish move to southern Queensland as oceans warm

SOUTHERN Queensland will be in a "world of hurt" as irukandji jellyfish move further south, an expert has said following a bizarre "flying irukandji" attack.

James Cook University irukandji expert Jamie Seymour made the comments after the irukandji jellyfish stung a man fishing off a bulk carrier, 25m above sea level. The Singaporean-registered ship was at Abbot Point, north of Bowen, when the 45-year-old crewman was stung in the face while reeling in his line late Sunday afternoon. The RACQ CQ-Rescue helicopter was sent to retrieve the patient who was in "extreme pain and great distress".

Dr Seymour was not particularly surprised by the unusual circumstances of the sting. "The guy's unlucky, there's no doubt about it, but the waters are teeming with them at the moment," he said. "In just one hour off Cairns the other night we got 70 odd (irukandji) in the one spot."

He said rising water temperatures would only make the problem worse in the future. "They're only going to get further south," Dr Seymour said. "We have already caught them at Fraser Island and places like the Sunshine Coast are going to be in a world of hurt in about five or 10 years."

RACQ CQ-Rescue helicopter crewman Geoff Abrahams said of Sunday's incident: "Initially it was pretty confusing and the intensive care paramedic thought we were dealing with some sort of cardiac condition. "After administering some pain relief, we were able to question him on the history of events and realised he'd been splashed with some sea water while fishing off the vessel."

More: http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26577015-952,00.html

[liberal N proud]

1. Not to be picky and I am not one who should, but...

"sourth"

Your heading needs fixed.

:hi:

[depakid]

2. Thanks. Here's few a pics:

------------

10-15 years ago, you rarely ever heard about these nasties.

Symptoms

Most stings occur during the summer wet season in December-January in North Queensland, with different seasonal patterns elsewhere.

Because the Jellyfish is very small, and the venom is only injected through the tips of the nematocysts (the cnidocysts) rather than the entire lengths, the sting may barely be noticed at first. It has been described as feeling like little more than a mosquito bite. (Chironex- or box jellies on the other hand- people KNOW the instant they are stung).

The symptoms, however, gradually become apparent and then more and more intense in the following 5 to 120 minutes (30 minutes on average). Irukandji syndrome includes an array of systemic symptoms including severe headache, backache, muscle pains, chest and abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, sweating, anxiety, hypertension, tachycardia and pulmonary edema.

One unusual symptom associated with Irukandji syndrome is a feeling of "impending doom". Patients have been reported as being so certain that they are going to die that they beg their doctors to kill them to get it over with.

Symptoms generally abate in 4 to 30 hours, but may take up to two weeks to resolve completely.<5>

Treatment

Similarly to other box jellyfish, first aid consists of flushing the area with vinegar to neutralize the tentacle stinging apparatus. There is no antivenom; treatment is largely supportive, with analgesia being the mainstay of management.

Antihistamines may be of benefit for pain relief,<14> but most cases require intravenous opioid analgesia. Fentanyl or morphine are usually chosen. Pethidine (aka meperidine in U.S. (Demerol)) should be avoided, as large doses are often required for pain relief and in this situation significant adverse effects from the pethidine metabolite norpethidine may occur.

Geographic distribution

Reports of Irukandji syndrome have come from Australia, Hawaii, Florida, French West Indies, Bonaire, the Caribbean, Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea. It is presumed that cubozoan species other than Carukia barnesi are responsible for envenomations outside Australia.

More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irukandji_syndrome

[hatrack]

3. Good thing that exploding jellyfish populations thanks to warming pose no threat to human . . .

Oh, wait.

Sorry!

:hi:

[depakid]

4. Note the emphaisis here:

One unusual symptom associated with Irukandji syndrome is a feeling of "impending doom"

...included that especially for some several longtime E&E folks.

;)

Gotta feel for Queensland, though. Last year, Dengue epidemics and Crocs. This year, swarms of irukandji's.

[kestrel91316]

5. Is there such a thing as CHRONIC Irukandji syndrome, lol?

I got stung by a jellyfish in SC in 1978 and my life has never been the same. That was the year I discovered doomer porn.......

:rofl: