Thread: Phuket : Box Jellyfish

Originally Posted by dirtydog

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

(BTW, does pissing on the stings still work?)

Your dreams of laying on the beaches of Phuket with Thai women queing up to urinate on you are just that, dreams.

Have to stick with the jacuzzi then.

Last year while visiting Pranburi (South of Hua HIn) I and another guy observed a square shaped jellyfish swimming around at a very fast speed at the edge of the river in very shallow water pool.

I asked the guy who was with me what he thought it was doing and he guessed it was hunting small crabs or river shrimps. I replied I'd never seen a jellyfish swim like that before and in fact I always thought they just drifted with the water flow / tides and wind. (I now know better thanks to the videos posted here)

Thinking back it was square shaped and swam like a bloody fish so it certainly wasn't drifting aimlessly, the water in the river is brackish and there's arranged trips to the mangroves up river so the area suits this animal if it can get there?

The guy I was with admitted he'd never seen one like it before or like I said ever seen a jellyfish swim so fast, in fact it was so unusual and interetsing for us both we watched it swimming around for quite some time.

So after reading on this thread about the unfortunate lady who died at the beach in Cha Am (aprox. 50 km further North) it's certainly made me think about these f*ckers.

This year the beeches were covered in washed up jellyfish and many people (kids mainly) were still swimming (not the Thai kids though) and sure enough a young Scandinavian kid got stung across his back and was eventually rushed to hospital by his parents.

Never heard anything more as they were booked to fly back the following day but it's an understatement he wasn't happy when he got stung and it appeared that the Thais rubbing sand on his back didn't seem to do any good.

Suddenly chlorine filled swimming pools don't seem that unattractive and it's no joke if you get stung by an ordinary jellyfish in Thailand let alone these bloody box types.

Recent fatality in Cha Am.

http://phuketwan.com/tourism/phuket-deaths-box-jellyfish-expert-shocked-misinformation-13292/

No Phuket Deaths from Box Jellyfish: Misinformation Shocks Expert


By Alan Morison Monday, November 22, 2010

THE recent death of a Swedish tourist from box jellyfish stings in the Thailand-Malaysia region was confirmed today by the Swedish honorary consul for Phuket and the Andaman region, Dr Sompoch Nipakanont.

He said the fatality took place about two weeks ago in Cha-Am, a popular resort in the Gulf of Thailand - not on Phuket, as some newspapers in Thailand have been reporting.

Swedish Woman Wasn't Killed by Box Jellyfish
04.12.2010

It wasn't a box jellyfish that killed the Swedish woman in Cha Am in Thailand two weeks ago, says a spokesman from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to the spokesman, the autopsy clearly shows that the Swedish tourist Ann Nordh, 57, did not die from a box jellyfish attack, writes the Sweish tabloid Expressen.

There wasn’t any signs of the typical box jellyfish burns on her body.

The spokesman refuses to name the course of the tragic dead.


There wasn’t any signs of the typical box jellyfish burns on her body. And according to the spokesman, the autopsy clearly shows that the Swedish tourist Ann Nordh, 57, did not die from a box jellyfish attack, writes the Sweish tabloid Expressen.

Original news source: Kvinna dog inte av manet - Nyheter - Senaste nytt | Expressen - Nyheter Sport Ekonomi Nöje

scandasia.com

Vinegar.

Phuket, Thailand Need Jellyfish Warning System
Alan Morison
Saturday, August 24, 2013


Biologists check for jellyfish in an east coast Phuket bay, 2009
phuketwan.com/file

PHUKET: Education and prevention are needed urgently because of the dangers of jellyfish in Thailand's coastal waters, including around Phuket, researchers have warned.

''Intensive prevention measures are needed, including systems in place for early detection of abnormal increases in dangerous jellyfish near beaches,'' say the researchers.

They recommend better training for lifeguards and other paramedics and provision of first aid equipment (especially vinegar) , plus stinger nets at high-risk beaches if appropriate.

Phuket's Governor, Maitree Intrusud, met with the research team earlier this year and gave his support to an education program.

A selection of Phuket resorts have shown interest in seminars and the issue is likely to be part of the Coastal Water Safety Summit being planned for Phuket in October.

A major infestation of jellyfish has not been seen on Phuket since 2009 but deadly box jellyfish have been sighted and are known to inhabit the region's waters.

The latest alert to the potential dangers comes in a paper written by Dr Lakkana Thaikruea, Dr Potjaman Siriariyaporn, Dr Rochana Wutthanarungsan, and Punnarai Smithsuwan.

The researcher call for an appropriate surveillance system so that people in Thailand's coastal regions will know if jellyfish pose more than a random threat.

The danger became evident in 2002 when two foreign tourists died at Phangan island, in Surat Thani, the researchers say.

''At that time, no government officials had ever heard of box jellyfish killing humans in Thailand,'' the paper says. ''There was strong belief that the deaths were caused by hypersensitivity of Caucasian people to local jellyfish toxin.''

In March 2008, a Swedish girl died at a beach on Lanta Island, in Krabi province. ''she had extensive tentacle marks all over her legs,'' the paper says.

The researchers aimed to clarify how widespread the risks are in Thailand and helped Public Health to structure an adhoc surveillance system in 23 provinces around the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand.

Hospitals and health centres in Phuket, Krabi, Surat Thani and Satun also became involved.

''Cases were reported mainly from two hospitals; a district hospital in Surat Thani province and a private hospital in Phuket province,''the study says.

The network detected 381 toxic jellyfish cases from 2003-2009 91 in Surat Thani, 119 in Krabi, 140 in Phuket, and 31 in Satun. Almost 200 of the cases involved foreigners.

Interviews with local residents established that ''the majority of the fishshermen had seen both single and multi-tentacle box jellyfish on both coasts since they were young.''

''Some of the fishermen said that the box jellyfish could be spotted after rains or storms. They floated with the current and at depths between the surface and bottom of the sea, and they could be found at any time around the clock.''

Fatal cases had been reported in Satun province ''for around 10 to 20 years.''

''Folk treatment included vinegar [now recommended by experts], beach morning glory, honey, lime, rain water, banana, brown sugar, squid ink, aloe vera, and analgesic balm.''

Sea gypsies also gave accounts of encounters.

''Two fatal events around 60 years ago were described as caused by jellyfish in sea gypsy villages in Phuket province,'' the paper says. ''Those people were found dead in the sea bearing extensive tentacle marks.

''In later years, this group of people changed to wearing long sleeved shirts and pants for protection from jellyfish and other sea animals.''

The researchers report that the number of toxic jellyfish cases increased between 2006 and 2009 on both coasts: ''This might be a real trend or loss of medical records in earlier years.''

The paper adds: ''This study could not confirm box jellyfish cases, but there were at least 53 cases diagnosed under the toxic jellyfish category.''

Increased surveillance is the main recommendation of the researchers.

The Chiang Mai University Medical Journal paper was a combined project by the Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, and the Epidemiology Bureau, Disease Control Department, Ministry of Public Health. It was first published last year but has just become available online.

phuketwan.com