Local newspaper this morning,
In part,
"IRUKANDJI. Just the name can cause fear among those who love to spend long summer days swimming in the ocean.
The deadly jellyfish have been responsible for plenty of angst on the Fraser Coast in recent weeks, after the AGL Action Rescue Helicopter airlifted six people off Fraser Island with suspected Irukandji stings.
A seventh person was stung, but chose to remain on the island.
But while Andrew Haig, who works in the emergency department of Hervey Bay Hospital, believes there are Irukandji in Fraser Coast waters, he does not believe the people who were stung were victims of the jellyfish.
He said the kind of symptoms that had been described to him led him to believe the people who had been stung, which includes four children, one as young as five, were victims of another kind of marine sting, such as a bluebottle.
Dr Haig said a good way of telling the difference was that the pain of the sting was usually instant when one was stung by a bluebottle and other, less severe types of jellyfish.
There was also usually a welt in the affected area.
With the Irukandji, on the other hand, symptoms didn't usually start until about half an hour or several hours after the sting.
The skin often showed no signs of being affected.
Testing to determine species of jellyfish was difficult as venom was not able to be tested and part of the specimen had to remain on the body in order for it to be done."
Kevin
