A not-everyday tale of box jellyfish

If ever proof was needed that precocious Australian kids are hard to take, then today’s news from Australia proves the point rather neatly.  A 10-year-old girl stung by the world’s most venomous creature – the deadly box jellyfish – has survived and medical history.

Australian Rachael Shardlow lost consciousness after being badly stung by the jellyfish while swimming in a river in eastern Queensland state with her brother in December.  I guess she got off lightly as ma-eating crocs must live in that tiver.  Though maybe they’ve all been killed by the jellyfish.

Zoology professor Jamie Seymour, from James Cook University, told broadcaster ABC: “When I first saw the pictures of the injuries I just went, ‘You know, to be honest, this kid should not be alive.’

“I mean, they are horrific. Usually when you see people who have been stung by box jellyfish with that number of the tentacle contacts on their body, it’s usually in a morgue.”

Often deadly, the box jellyfish has long, trailing tentacles and is able to squeeze through even the smallest of nets as its main body is only the size of a fingernail.

The venom is so overpoweringly painful that victims often go into shock and drown or die of heart failure before reaching shore.

There is no effective antivenom for its sting, which attacks the heart, nervous system and skin, inducing shooting muscle pain, vomiting and a rapid rise in blood pressure.

Rachael was pulled from the Calliope River, near the town of Gladstone, by her 13-year-old brother with the jellyfish’s tentacles still wrapped around her legs.

Before passing out, she told him she could not see or breathe.

After the rescue, she spent six weeks recovering in hospital before returning home.

Prof Seymour said: “I don’t know of anybody in the entire literature where we’ve studied this where someone has had such an extensive sting that has survived.

“From our point of view, it’s really useful information that you very seldom, if ever, get your hands on.”

The girl’s father Geoff Shardlow told ABC News that his daughter had suffered scarring to her legs and some short-term memory loss.

He said: “We’ve noticed a small amount of short-term memory loss, like riding a pushbike to school and forgetting she’s taken a pushbike.

“The greatest fear was actual brain damage (but) her cognitive skills and memory tests were all fine.”  Sometimes it helps to be Australian I guess