Big Box Jellyfish Blog Southeast Asia

  "Scientists have now also discovered that other species of jellyfish, most notably other cubozoans or box jellyfish (of which Irukandji is one of the smallest) also give rise to this syndrome. There are at least 8–12 other species of Irukandji jellyfish found in Australian waters. Most have been documented in the warmer waters of the east coast. Research has revealed that they also like to extend their tentacles and have caused injury in other parts of the world. Unfortunately there are no definitive tests that can confirm if patients are the victims of Irukandji stings. Treatment of the cryptic syndrome is also complex due to the varying symptoms, so it’s easy to misdiagnose." - Australian Geographic  If you've ever inexplicably felt like hell some time after emerging from the sea in South-East Asia and more than likely went to hospital where you could not get any relief from medication, comfort from loved ones and an explanation from doctors, a box jellyfish sting and...

  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...

  The image of a large Chironex species of box jellyfish that heads this page was snapped by an amateur photographer at Langkawi, the jewel of the north in Malaysia's tourism crown. The photograph was effortlessly taken  around 9pm  on 12th May, 2010 at Telaga Harbour, Langkawi from a moored boat using a camera and flash. In March, 2021, the Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies  (CEMACS) - Malaysia's leading marine education and research body - announced the release of a book: Field Guide to the Jellyfish of Western Pacific. A collaborative work where individual nation members of the IOC Westpac have tabled and published their extensive research in jellyfish taxonomy and  identification, the book is the first of its kind in the region and a comprehensive, definitive guide on jellyfish in the Western Pacific. That is, except for, the large Chironex species in this photograph. Read previous Post on this photograph: Langkawi Box Jellyfish 2010 Langkawi and nearby ...

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...

A precious child is once again the focus of a life-threatening box jellyfish sting, another in a familiar pattern that stretches across South-East Asia. A tragic postcript to the following story, is news of further deaths: A 5-year old girl ( 17th May, 2021)  and a 7-year old girl (8th June, 2021), both killed by the venom from box jellyfish stings at different beaches in Camarines Sur province, south-east of Luzon. On the Philippines island of Negros, a family was day-tripping at beautiful Nabulao Beach when disaster struck. In the afternoon of 8 February, 2021, two young children were playing in the shallows with their father when one child let out a distressing cry. The girl had been stung by a box jellyfish. What followed was a deeply harrowing experience for the family as they desperately tried to keep their child alive.  The potentially lethal venom had taken hold and the little girl had fallen unconscious. On the way to the local hospital, her mother...

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...

Good news all round. Scientists are getting closer to discovering an antidote to toxic box jellyfish venom and their hungry laboratory mice were given carte blanche to "chow" down "ad libitum".  According to a 2019 study published in nature.com  (Nature Communications), these very well-fed mice feasted then made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of a " molecular dissection of a jellyfish venom-induced cell death pathway by screening for host components required for venom exposure-induced cell death using genome-scale lenti-CRISPR mutagenesis". Yes. This was a serious scientific study  at a microscopic molecular level that makes for challenging reading if you prefer BuzzFeed to Biochemistry. Put simply, s cience is exploring the make-up of box jellyfish venom so it can isolate and manipulate its deadly components. The study, published as " Molecular dissection of box jellyfish venom cytotoxicity highlights an effective venom antidote",...

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...