Phuket's Box Jellyfish Beat-Up
Some Thai media outlets have recently reported (October, 2025) that several people holidaying on Phuket's eastern beaches of Patong and Kalim have been stung by venomous jellyfish, including we're told box jellyfish, and some victims were transfered to hospital.
The facts are: a few were stung, one went to hospital and the jellyfish deemed responsible is the sea nettle or Chrysaora, not box jellyfish. For once, boxies are not the bad guys.
The victims' burning, blistering rash-like stings are seriously painful and cannot be underestimated, but these media outlets putting a sensational clickbait trap over substance and facts, while no surprise, rubbed salt into the wounds of nervous local tourism.
Sea nettle jellyfish are widespread. There would be many people all around Thailand brushing up against these very stingy creatures every week, and unfortunately coming off extremely painfully the worse for wear.
There are previous credible and substantiated reports of box jellyfish sightings and stings on the popular east coast of Phuket going back decades. Mostly single-tentacle Morbacca or fire jellyfish, and the multi-tentacle buitendijki.
Both extremely dangerous, they're not believed to be deadly with no known fatalities.
About this recent spate of stings, The Phuket News has an explainer linked below.
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