Swimmer in agonizing pain due to DEADLY 'Irukandji syndrome' after he was stung by 'invisible' jellyfish
QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA: A swimmer was in excruciating pain after he got stung by a suspected deadly Irukandji jellyfish off Queensland’s Hamilton Island on Friday, March 3. The man was airlifted in critical condition to Mackay Base Hospital as he was “suffering symptoms of the potentially deadly Irukandji syndrome.” Irukandji stings can be fatal, so considering the seriousness of the case, its crew went to the hospital to get anti-venom before flying 90 km north to assist the swimmer.
The man was discharged from the hospital on Saturday, March 4, one day after his arrival, according to information provided by Mackay Base Hospital, according to Yahoo News Australia. As a result of the creature's stings, an estimated 50 individuals in Australia are hospitalized each year, making the Irukandji encounter a common occurrence. A 20-year-old traveler was apparently stung by one in February off K'gari (Fraser Island), according to recent instances.
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Climate change caused box jellyfish to move southward
Historically, irukandji and box jellyfish were only found in northern Australia. However, climate change may be causing them to move southward. There have been 14 box jellyfish deaths in the Northern Territory since 1975, so swimming in the summer is discouraged. According to News.au, irukandji are tiny, venomous and virtually invisible to the human eye and they can "inflict a sting so painful that if you don’t die you may wish you had".
Christine Evans, an aquarist at Sea Life aquarium in Melbourne, told Yahoo News Australia that box jellyfish could eventually reach Sydney if temperatures continue to rise. In recent years, venomous blue dragon sea slugs have been observed in unprecedented numbers along the Gold Coast, Bondi Beach, Kurnell, and Newcastle beaches.
Shark attack
The tragic incident comes a month after a teenager was mauled to death in a shark attack in Perth, Australia. In an interview with WA Police, Acting Fremantle District Inspector Paul Robinson explained that the girl jumped in the water to swim with dolphins with her friends around 3:20 in the afternoon while jet skiing. Despite paramedics' efforts, the woman was unable to survive the accident near the old Fremantle traffic bridge. Marine ecologist Johan Gustafson from Griffith University said that bull sharks are found in Australian rivers.
He shared, "Except the southern end where it's a bit too cold. It'll be the same from Perth all the way over to Sydney. You won't actually find a massive, huge white shark up in a river. There's not enough food for it, it's too shallow for them." About sharks attacking humans, the ecologist added, "On the Gold Coast, where we've got a lot of canals and rivers all connected [and] we've got a huge population on the water, we haven't had any incidents for quite a long time. And with the Swan [River] as well, there hasn't been a recorded [fatal incident] in nearly 100 years."