Girl's agonising death 'preventable'
THE death of a seven-year-old girl who was stung on the legs and chest by a box jellyfish near Bamaga on Cape York Peninsula was swift.
She died within minutes of running screaming from the waters of Umagico Beach and collapsing in front of her parents after being stung by Chironex fleckeri, described as the world's most venomous animal.
"The pain is horrific, it's like being put into boiling oil," said Lisa-ann Gershwin, the national marine stinger adviser with Surf Life Saving Australia.
"She lost consciousness very, very quickly, which was probably a good thing. It reduced her suffering."
Dr Gershwin said that in cases of severe stings death occurred so quickly that treatment could not be accessed in time.
"What we see in these horrific cases is it takes about three minutes to die and about 20 minutes to get the anti-venom.
"The message is not to get stung. This is an absolute tragedy, because it's 100 per cent preventable if she had been wearing protective clothing.
"Surf Life Saving recommends a full body Lycra body suit but she could have worn her own pyjamas.
"If there had been any type of barrier between her skin and the jellyfish tentacles, this would not have happened."
Dr Gershwin said box jellyfish were prevalent from November to May in waters from Gladstone in Queensland, across the Top End and down to Exmouth in Western Australia.
She said about 70 people had died from box jellyfish stings in Australia since records were first kept in 1884.
But research published in the latest Medical Journal of Australia found most box jellyfish stings were not life-threatening.
"We have a lot to learn about what causes a fatal sting and what doesn't," Dr Gershwin said.
THE death of a seven-year-old girl who was stung on the legs and chest by a box jellyfish near Bamaga on Cape York Peninsula was swift.
She died within minutes of running screaming from the waters of Umagico Beach and collapsing in front of her parents after being stung by Chironex fleckeri, described as the world's most venomous animal.
"The pain is horrific, it's like being put into boiling oil," said Lisa-ann Gershwin, the national marine stinger adviser with Surf Life Saving Australia.
"She lost consciousness very, very quickly, which was probably a good thing. It reduced her suffering."
Dr Gershwin said that in cases of severe stings death occurred so quickly that treatment could not be accessed in time.
"What we see in these horrific cases is it takes about three minutes to die and about 20 minutes to get the anti-venom.
"The message is not to get stung. This is an absolute tragedy, because it's 100 per cent preventable if she had been wearing protective clothing.
"Surf Life Saving recommends a full body Lycra body suit but she could have worn her own pyjamas.
"If there had been any type of barrier between her skin and the jellyfish tentacles, this would not have happened."
Dr Gershwin said box jellyfish were prevalent from November to May in waters from Gladstone in Queensland, across the Top End and down to Exmouth in Western Australia.
She said about 70 people had died from box jellyfish stings in Australia since records were first kept in 1884.
But research published in the latest Medical Journal of Australia found most box jellyfish stings were not life-threatening.
"We have a lot to learn about what causes a fatal sting and what doesn't," Dr Gershwin said.
