Deadly Box Jellyfish Found In Thai Waters

[sriracha john]

Deadly box jellyfish found in Thai waters

The discovery of a box jellyfish, one of the most poisonous in the world, in Thai waters has prompted the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to set up a team to study its origin and behaviour to prevent attacks. Somchai Bussarawit, the chief of the museum and aquarium at the Phuket Marine Biological Centre, said there has never been any reports of this type of box jellyfish being found in Thai waters before. "We are not sure whether it is a primitive species living here or a foreign species. We have no information. That is why we have to set up a team to investigate it," he said. Experts in Australia and Japan would be asked to assist the study. There are two families of jellyfish normally found in Thai waters, the Chirodropidae and the Carybdeidae, which is the more poisonous of the two. So far two deaths have been attributed to the jellyfish. The first case happened in 2002 at Koh Phangan in Surat Thani province and the latest in April at Koh Lanta in Krabi province. The decision to study the box jellyfish came after the son of an Australian journalist was stung while swimming at Koh Mak in Trat province early this year.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.net/171008_News/17Oct2008_news05.php

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Box Jellyfish

Species - Chironex Fleckeri

You have virtually no chance of surviving the venomous sting, unless treated immediately.

http://www.barrierreefaustralia.com/the-gr...f/jellyfish.htm

Edited October 17, 2008 by sriracha john

[toybits]

Perhaps another sign of the globe warming up???

[geriatrickid]

Perhaps another sign of the globe warming up???

Currents are influenced by temperatures so that would seem logical.

[sriracha john]

"Box jellyfish venom is the most deadly in the animal kingdom and has caused at least 5,567 recorded deaths since 1954."

- Williamson JA, Fenner P J, Burnett JW, Rifkin J.: Venomous and poisonous marine animals: a medical and biological handbook

[Scott]

Another good reason for me to stay out of the sea. Much prefer a swimming pool!

[Farma]

I see a business opportunity here. Who wants to buy a skin suit?

[sriracha john]

just in time for the coming High Season...

from a guidebook where box jellyfish do occur... the worst time for them, seasonally, are...

"The months of November to May"

========================================

this is what it does to different thighs after an encounter:

Edited October 17, 2008 by sriracha john

[toybits]

From northern Australia - oceanic current squeezes between the islands of Borneo and Java. Could that have brought the jellies here?

Perhaps another sign of the globe warming up???

Currents are influenced by temperatures so that would seem logical.

[Samuian]

prevent attacks. ...................edit .......There are two families of jellyfish normally found in Thai waters, the Chirodropidae and the Carybdeidae, which is the more poisonous of the two. So far two deaths have been attributed to the jellyfish. The first case happened in 2002 at Koh Phangan in Surat Thani province and the latest in April at Koh Lanta in Krabi province. The decision to study the box jellyfish came after the son of an Australian journalist was stung while swimming at Koh Mak in Trat province early this year.

Jellyfish doesn't attack, it's simple contact!

If there are 2 species known to be 'normally' present in Thai waters, I don not think they are brought here by currents all way from Australia!

The wounds of the sting do look nasty!

What to do in case, First Aid anybody?

Vinegar?

Hot water?

Juice of "Pak Bung Talay"?

Urin?

[sriracha john]

prevent attacks. ...................edit .......There are two families of jellyfish normally found in Thai waters, the Chirodropidae and the Carybdeidae, which is the more poisonous of the two. So far two deaths have been attributed to the jellyfish. The first case happened in 2002 at Koh Phangan in Surat Thani province and the latest in April at Koh Lanta in Krabi province. The decision to study the box jellyfish came after the son of an Australian journalist was stung while swimming at Koh Mak in Trat province early this year.

Jellyfish doesn't attack, it's simple contact!

by this PBS documentary on them, they actually do seem to pursue prey with their primitive "eyes". This and other unique characteristics about the box jellyfish, such as propelling themselves rapidly and purposefully and not simply drifting about with the tides like other jellyfish, is available here:

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0S00M32CfhI.DYA...id=000142065591

If there are 2 species known to be 'normally' present in Thai waters, I don not think they are brought here by currents all way from Australia!

The wounds of the sting do look nasty!

What to do in case, First Aid anybody?

Vinegar?

Hot water?

Juice of "Pak Bung Talay"?

Urine?

Right the first time. Copious amounts of vinegar...the acetic acid helps to neutralize stinging cells (nematocysts).

Also, from the linked OP:

Vinegar is the best solution to reduce the pain from a jellyfish sting before the victim is sent to hospital, he said. Water should not be used as it only increases the pain.

Resorts and hotels should have vinegar in their emergency kits, he suggested.

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

Hopefully the many resorts of Trat province, like Koh Chang, where this occurred, will start doing so.

Edited October 17, 2008 by sriracha john

[Crushdepth]

Might have come in with ballast water of ships. A lot of marine species are being moved around that way.

[Payboy]

Another good reason for me to stay out of the sea. Much prefer a swimming pool!

fish dont come around bothering me in my backyard, so i dont go to theirs....

[hanno]

I doubt both that the jellyfish are new to Thai waters (I seem to recall an emission on one of the nature channels recently where they basically found box jellyfish everywhere they looked for it), as well as the number of deaths.

[UmpaLumpa]

just in time for the coming High Season...

from a guidebook where box jellyfish do occur... the worst time for them, seasonally, are...

"The months of November to May"

thoes this period apply to thailand specifically?

[sriracha john]

just in time for the coming High Season...

from a guidebook where box jellyfish do occur... the worst time for them, seasonally, are...

"The months of November to May"

thoes this period apply to thailand specifically?

dunno... they've never been here before...

but if it's plenty-of-them time from wherever they're coming from... maybe it's the "new" worst season for them in Thailand.

[stumonster]

just in time for the coming High Season...

from a guidebook where box jellyfish do occur... the worst time for them, seasonally, are...

"The months of November to May"

thoes this period apply to thailand specifically?

thats the summer months in the southern hemisphere - reverse it for thailand as it is in the northern hemisphere

irrakanji jellyfish scare me more than a box jellyfish

[PeaceBlondie]

Perhaps another sign of the globe warming up???

No. Everything in Thailand lately is due to political warming up.

[Samuian]

Jellyfish doesn't attack, it's simple contact!

by this PBS documentary on them, they actually do seem to pursue prey with their primitive "eyes". This and other unique characteristics about the box jellyfish, such as propelling themselves rapidly and purposefully and not simply drifting about with the tides like other jellyfish, is available here:....edit...

Right the first time. Copious amounts of vinegar...the acetic acid helps to neutralize stinging cells (nematocysts).

Also, from the linked OP:

Vinegar is the best solution to reduce the pain from a jellyfish sting before the victim is sent to hospital, he said. Water should not be used as it only increases the pain.

Resorts and hotels should have vinegar in their emergency kits, he suggested.

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

Hopefully the many resorts of Trat province, like Koh Chang, where this occurred, will start doing so.

Thanks for the run up - never ever knew that they even "approach a target"!

Yes and the good old Vinegar does wonders, with ordinary Jelly fish "stings", good to know that it's a first aid in this case as well!

From experience many people tend to freak out and panic first, some run around on the beach as if they have lost their minds - remember stay cool and collected, DO NOT PANIC and do what needs to be done - get Vinegar, or on most beaches this creepy-crawly plant "Pak bung talay" is growing, has violet white flowers and more or less heart shaped leaves.... the Juice will help as wel - DON"T RUB it into the sting it will make it WORSE!

[h90]

Jellyfish doesn't attack, it's simple contact!

by this PBS documentary on them, they actually do seem to pursue prey with their primitive "eyes". This and other unique characteristics about the box jellyfish, such as propelling themselves rapidly and purposefully and not simply drifting about with the tides like other jellyfish, is available here:....edit...

Right the first time. Copious amounts of vinegar...the acetic acid helps to neutralize stinging cells (nematocysts).

Also, from the linked OP:

Vinegar is the best solution to reduce the pain from a jellyfish sting before the victim is sent to hospital, he said. Water should not be used as it only increases the pain.

Resorts and hotels should have vinegar in their emergency kits, he suggested.

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

Hopefully the many resorts of Trat province, like Koh Chang, where this occurred, will start doing so.

Thanks for the run up - never ever knew that they even "approach a target"!

Yes and the good old Vinegar does wonders, with ordinary Jelly fish "stings", good to know that it's a first aid in this case as well!

From experience many people tend to freak out and panic first, some run around on the beach as if they have lost their minds - remember stay cool and collected, DO NOT PANIC and do what needs to be done - get Vinegar, or on most beaches this creepy-crawly plant "Pak bung talay" is growing, has violet white flowers and more or less heart shaped leaves.... the Juice will help as wel - DON"T RUB it into the sting it will make it WORSE!

does anyone know if lemon helps or coke? You need something sour, vinegar is good but maybe lemon can do the same or coke?

[Farma]

There’s plenty of information on this reef research centre link. http://www.reef.crc.org.au/publications/br...es/Firstaid.htm

I remember research being carried out years ago by a university to find the most effective first aid treatment and vinegar came out best. I also recall reading that intense pain causes most victims to die from shock and not the sting.

As a kid I experienced intense pain from a blue bottle that wrapped itself around my leg leaving it temporarily looking like the pics SJ posted above I wouldn’t like to experience a box jelly sting.

[FolkGuitar]

What to do in case, First Aid anybody?

Vinegar?

Hot water?

Juice of "Pak Bung Talay"?

Urin?

Pour on the vinegar then scrape the area with the side of a credit card to remove as much of the tentacles and nematocysts as possible. DO NOT WASH WITH WATER as water will trigger more of the stinging cells to fire! Keep pouring on vinegar every few minutes. If on a boat with no vinegar available, use urine. Treat for shock. There will be a LOT of pain. In the case of a severe contact, get the victim to the nearest medical facility.

[Gravelrash]

They are nasty things, as Aussies know, keep out of the water if they are around. There are suits that protect against them, but sort of defeats the idea of swimming.

At least if they turned up in Pattaya, they might keep people out of the dirty water, assuming of course the things themselves survived.

[Crushdepth]

Box jellyfish - Wikipedia. Quite an interesting read, I didn't know there were actually a fairly large number of species, and some of them definitely occur in Asia.

[tw25rw]

just in time for the coming High Season...

from a guidebook where box jellyfish do occur... the worst time for them, seasonally, are...

"The months of November to May"

thoes this period apply to thailand specifically?

No, that's the Australian wet season. That period should be relatively safe in Thailand.

Doubt it's a warming thing as they are tropical and their previously known limits are much the same temperature. More likely that they were around the whole time and it's only just coming to light.

[h90]

What to do in case, First Aid anybody?

Vinegar?

Hot water?

Juice of "Pak Bung Talay"?

Urin?

Pour on the vinegar then scrape the area with the side of a credit card to remove as much of the tentacles and nematocysts as possible. DO NOT WASH WITH WATER as water will trigger more of the stinging cells to fire! Keep pouring on vinegar every few minutes. If on a boat with no vinegar available, use urine. Treat for shock. There will be a LOT of pain. In the case of a severe contact, get the victim to the nearest medical facility.

Visa or Mastercard?

[NanLaew]

Perhaps another sign of the globe warming up???

No. Everything in Thailand lately is due to political warming up.

At last!

I am shocked that the resident PAD fan club has missed what is so blatantly obvious here. When will Thaksin stop with his meddling in Thai waters?

[mogoso]

Perhaps another sign of the globe warming up???

There is evidence to the contrary. NOAA has placed 3000 buoys (Argos) throughout the worlds oceans, and their findings refute any warming in the worlds oceans.

www.ibdeditorials/IBDArticles.aspx?id=291423153272209

www.powerlineblog.comarchives/2008/05/020479.php

If you can't understand its all a scam, mores the pity on you.

[sriracha john]

does anyone know if lemon helps or coke? You need something sour, vinegar is good but maybe lemon can do the same or coke?

Coke would probably help the sufferer not be so concerned with the stings, but as for putting it on the affected area, I don't think it would neutralize the.... oh... wait a sec.... you mean Coca-Cola... nevermind.

[Johpa]

"We are not sure whether it is a primitive species living here or a foreign species.

An interesting set of options that is not particularly complimentary to the Kingdom.

[h90]

does anyone know if lemon helps or coke? You need something sour, vinegar is good but maybe lemon can do the same or coke?

Coke would probably help the sufferer not be so concerned with the stings, but as for putting it on the affected area, I don't think it would neutralize the.... oh... wait a sec.... you mean Coca-Cola... nevermind.

yes I mean the black one, not the white one....