Big Box Jellyfish Blog Southeast Asia

  The Philippines has taken a much-needed step toward saving lives with the recent release of a  jellyfish safety video   by the Philippine Society of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (PSAAI).  While this might seem insignificant, it's actually a very  positive  move forward after decades of inaction and recent public and political outcry that erupted over the preventable deaths of innocent children. As posted HERE in September 2024 about the tragic death of five-year-old Kiera and consequent public anguish expressed by her devastated mother  Jahaziel Michaellie Maningdin; the people have pleaded, the government has listened, and this  PSAAI  video goes some way in raising awareness and honouring the memory and legacy of not only Kiera, but numerous other children whose young lives were ended by a box jellyfish sting. Sadly and poignantly, as the video was released and this post was being written, two 10-year-old children tragically died fro...

So, how safe is Koh Samui? There's been plenty of confusion and panic. Is it OK to swim? How many of these 'killer jellyfish' are there? Where are they? What do they look like? How big is the risk? What do I do if I get stung? Here is the original guide, followed by a September 2026 update. The risk remains.

  Right now, there are a lot of very good people working to make everyone box jellyfish-safe and sting-free in South-East Asian seas. Their number are small but they're a dedicated bunch committing themselves to surveilling, testing, researching, communicating, training, educating, treating and advancing the cause of effective box jellyfish prevention and sting treatment. Through interconnected active networks from the beach to the bureaucrats, change is taking place with  knowledge, strategies and actions progressively making a positive difference. Their message to the public is simple: Swim inside a prevention net if one's available. Wear a full-length lycra stinger suit if outside a net. Immediately and only use vinegar on a sting. And then there is peeing. Urinating on some poor victim's jellyfish sting is widely, and wrongly, considered an accepted treatment. It's not, okay? And what's worse, if that's possible, whenever there's mention of a jellyfish ...

  A nine-year old boy has died after being stung by a box jellyfish at Haad Rin on the island of Koh Phangan in Thailand. The tragic news filtered through after weeks of warnings from authorities about the heightened seasonal risk to  swimmers  in the region including Koh Samui, while treating a number of victims for box jellyfish stings. The boy who was with his family, Israeli nationals that have reportedly been living on the island for several years, was swimming outside of a nearby protective jellyfish prevention net on the evening of Saturday 28 August, 2021 when the incident occurred. Matichon, a major Thai-language national daily newspaper, reported that efforts were made on the scene to administer proper first aid, including vinegar, and to revive the boy who was rushed to Phangan International Hospital. Director-General of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources,  Mr. Sophon Thongdee,  was quoted in Matichon saying, "B ox jellyfish...

Box jellyfish are widespread throughout the Indo-Pacific region and, while this blog is primarily focused on South-East Asia, tragic news of a fatality in a far north-east corner of tropical Australia resonates with relevancy throughout thousands of similar coastal communities. A young man of 17 has sadly lost his life, stung by a box jellyfish while net fishing with family at a faraway beach on the York Peninsula.  Box jellyfish are active right across the northern stretch of Australia during the wet season from October to May and stings from Chironex fleckerii and Irukandji occur though deaths are uncommon. Australia has developed a reasonably sophisticated and successful system of prevention and treatment education and tools so as to avoid tragic deaths such as that which occurred at Bamaga in Queensland this week. But, it's far from perfect. In fact, its effectiveness through concerted effort over a number of years is limited to specific places and areas, us...

Social distancing takes to the sea with Singapore's popular playground island of Sentosa shocked by the sight of a large box jellyfish in its midst on 3 July, 2020.  Furthermore, Singapore's shock gets worse with reports of several stings.  Marine Stewards posted a video to Facebook of a large single-tentacle cubozoan at ONE15 Marina and word soon spread on social media warning people to stay out of the water. WATCH THE SENTOSA BOX JELLYFISH VIDEO The video shows the unsociable box jellyfish swimming solo on the water's surface with three long tentacles draping behind it - one seems to have gone missing in action. The appearance is that of a Morbakka, and it is certainly one to avoid.  While a multi-tentacle box jellyfish or Chirodropid (specifically Chironex species, as pictured atop of our home page) is considered the world's most venomous animal and is responsible for dozens of deaths annually throughout South-East Asia, the Morbakka is in the scientific order of Car...

Travel and tourism are in lockdown and the world's wanderlust is peaking. Novel coronavirus restrictions have severely wounded the industry, mortally in some cases,  but when the recovery (of sorts) comes, those that want and can will getaway quick. 

Serious box jellyfish stings on Koh Samui as reported in the French language Le Petit Journal, 21 November 2019. Of the 3 children stung, the most serious was that of a 12-year old boy who required CPR on his way to the local hospital where he was placed in a coma and flown by private jet to Bangkok.  Details follow in French and English as well as a Facebook link to the public appeal of the children's mother. FURTHER READING LINKS: Sting victim's mother's Facebook appeal Le Petit Journal online article Trois enfants français survivent à des cuboméduses à Koh Samui Un jeune français de douze ans survit à une piqûre de cuboméduse ou méduse-boîte à Koh Samui après avoir fait un arrêt cardiaque et été plongé dans le coma pendant deux jours. Deux autres jeunes filles, plus légèrement touchées sont hors de danger.  Cela devait être la dernière journée à la plage de Lamai à Koh Samui avant de rentrer en France pour cette famille originaire du Var. Le mardi...

Fodor's Travel website published an article by Jacob Dean on 16 July, 2019 that brings the issue of box jellyfish in Thailand into the mainstream.  Social media posts, blogs such as this and local media reacting to sting events or official warnings have long been the major source of current and topical information on Thailand's box jellyfish problem. Fodor's is now front and centre. This news article is for the most part accurate, though there are several factual errors to note.  Firstly, this is not the 'Australian box jellyfish'. It is the Thai box jellyfish otherwise known as Chironex Indrasaksajae.  It's not an illegal alien from Oz, Thailand owns it! The 'general lack of eduction' and 'various conflicts of interests from stakeholders' the author references from 2016 has greatly improved, though is still far from perfect. A number of fatalities had occurred at this time and Thailand has officially upped the ante in the 3 years sin...

What happens and what to do if you get stung by a box jellyfish? Just the slightest touch from a box jellyfish tentacle causes instantaneous excruciating pain. The victim will almost always scream in agony. Critically, you have a minute or two, if not seconds, in the heat of the moment to treat the victim or the consequences could be fatal. Delay could mean death.

Reports are starting to come in of an increase in box jellyfish stings on the eastern Gulf of Thailand islands of Koh Mak and Koh Kood.

There has been a spike in reports of jellyfish stings on Koh Samui recently. Generally around Lamai Beach. Most it appears can be attributed to single and multiple-tentacle box jellyfish. In August, 2016 alone there were 17 people with serious stings admitted to hospital for treatment. Fortunately there have been no reported deaths.

At the moment there is believed to be around 50 species of Box Jellyfish. They all have their differences. Many are dangerous and only a few have the capacity to kill. The Chironex-type Box Jellyfish that inhabits Indo-Pacific seas and has caused fatalities from Australia to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and the region is known as the most venomous animal on the planet.

So, how safe is Koh Samui? There's been plenty of confusion and panic. Is it OK to swim? How many of these 'killer jellyfish' are there? Where are they? What do they look like? How big is the risk? What do I do if I get stung?  Here is the original guide , followed by updates up until April 2024.  A new updated version of this story is located at:  https://www.boxjellyfish.online/2024/04/how-safe-is-samui-april-2024-update.html

Sadly it seems as though it was just a matter of time. There have recently been credible reports of several serious jellyfish stings in the Koh Samui region. Victims have been hospitalised. On nearby Koh Phangan where there were two box jellyfish fatalities in a 12-month period in 2014-15, divers have sighted dangerous jellyfish and a few have been pulled out of the water close to the beach.

A 31 year-old woman from Bangkok has tragically died after being stung by a box jellyfish on the island of Koh Phangan.

T he archipelago of Indonesia is a sprawling series of tropical islands smack-bang in the middle of Indo-Pacific box jellyfish habitat between Australia and Thailand. It's a country not known for its information giving, transparency or willingness to listen.

Truth or Dare?  

Local hotel staff are on the lookout for box jellyfish and sting victims after a series of awareness information sessions arranged by the Thailand Hotels Association (THA) Koh Samui chapter were held on the island.

The tragic loss of another young life to a lethal multi-tentacle box jellyfish is impossibly sad for all involved. The 5 year old French boy killed at Bottle Beach at the north end of Koh Phangan was standing in shallow water when stung. In an instant, a family holiday in paradise turned into a nightmare as desperate attempts were made to save his little life. The boy died in the car with his distraught parents on the long journey to a poorly equipped local hospital.