Australian jellyfish stings

What is the Australian box jellyfish?

Australian box jellyfish or Chironex fleckeri, more commonly known as a marine wasp or "stinger," is a species of deadly, poisonous box jellyfish found off the coast of tropical Australia.

The Australian box jellyfish is an invertebrate marine animal of the cnidaria phylum ("sharp object" in Greek, named after the radiologist Dr. Hugo Flecker (1884–1957). The cnidarians ('nid-AIR-ee-ah') They are very varied and comprise four main classes:

• Hydrozoans, such as the Portuguese man of war (also known as the bluebottle)
• Antozoans, such as anemones, corals and marine pens.
• Scyphozoa, like the real jellyfish
• Cubozoans, such as box jellies, including the "Greater" Australian box jellyfish - C. fleckeri.

Of the 10,000 known species of Cnidaria, about 100 are potentially dangerous to humans. The Australian box jellyfish has been responsible for more than 70 fatal stings or "poisonings" since 1883. Cubozoans also include various species of four tentacled box jellyfish causing Irukandji syndrome.

Australian jellyfish specimens have weighed up to 6 kg; They consist of a large, umbrella-shaped bell with four bundles of tentacles emerging from the corners of the bell. The jellyfish box is difficult for victims to see and more difficult to avoid, as its nearly transparent tentacles extend up to 300mm. Their stings injure the skin and can cause serious systemic Effects They feed on small prawns.

The Australian box jellyfish is found in the coastal waters of northern Australia, but its distribution it can now be expanded to include nearby areas of the Indo-West-Pacific Ocean. Its northernmost reach has not yet been found, and its general biogeography is uncertain.

Until recently, Australian box jellyfish were thought to be rare in deep water, as marine studies of the Great Barrier Reef found few far from shore or more than 5m. However, an opportunistic offshore video study in northwest Australia found large numbers at depths of 39–56 m (64 in a 1500m or 0.05m trailer⁻²)

Who is affected by Australian jellyfish stings?

• Box jellyfish occur most frequently in Australian tropical waters from November to April each year, with an 8% of stings occurring outside of this period.
• Stings occur most frequently in adult men in waters less than 100 mm deep.
• Around 37% of Australian jellyfish stings occur in children.
• Stings occur more frequently in people who enter the water between 3 and 6 o'clock in the afternoon, with an outgoing tide.
• Rain and strong winds, but not cloudy weather, deter jellyfish.

What is the mechanism and toxicology of Australian jellyfish stings?

Australian jellyfish stings are difficult to study because:

• It is difficult to collect pure poison without contamination: until recently, the most widely used method of toxin extraction involved spraying the tentacles and nematocysts (or "puncture cells")
• The toxin proteins are fragile and are easily broken down by unfavorable temperatures and pH
• The venom is transmitted by small nematocysts, each of which contains picograms (trillionths of a gram) of protein.

Poisoning (or stinging) occurs when human skin comes in contact with the thousands of densely packed nematocysts that line jellyfish tentacles. With 700 Ns of contact, the nematocyst capsules fire thousands of venom-filled barbed darts. These travel 67 km / hour with an impact pressure on the epidermis 7.7 GPa (approximately 1,116,790.5 psi).

Each poison-filled dart is filled with porins (transmembrane proteins), neurotoxic peptides and bioactive lipids.

What are the local signs of Australian box jellyfish poisoning?

Australian jellyfish toxin is injected into the skin. It has direct effects on the muscle and nervesand it can cause chronic immune complications

Most Australian jellyfish stings are more of a nuisance than a medical threat. The severity of the sting is related to the size of the box jellyfish (those with a bell greater than 150 mm are considered highly dangerous).

Skin symptoms occur immediately on contact and include:

• Exquisite pain, itching and hives in the contact area.
• Linear The welts are brownish purple in color and up to 10 mm wide.
• Lesions may be visible. hemorrhagic
• Blisters can form minutes after contact.
• Full thickness skin necrosis can occur 1–2 weeks later
• Can be followed by a whip hypopigmentation or hyperpigmentation.

The response to Australian box jellyfish poisoning varies from person to person, depending on how well dermis can erase irritating chitins (the jellyfish exoskeleton) of the skin.

What are the systemic signs of Australian box jellyfish poisoning?

Systemic features of Australian box jellyfish poisoning may include:

• Labored breathing
• A drop in blood pressure
• Irritability and restlessness.
• Fainting and collapse
• Cardiac arrhythmias
• Heart attack.

If the estimated total length of the welts is greater than 700 mm, unconsciousness follows quickly and culminates in a painful death after 5 to 20 minutes.

With their lower body mass, children are more vulnerable.

What causes Australian box jellyfish poisoning death?

Death from Australian box jellyfish poisoning is largely due to the rapid cardiovascular effects of pore formation. toxins. They reveal autopsies pulmonary edema.

What are the immunological aspects of Australian box jellyfish poisoning?

The spiny darts that explode in the epidermis are made of collagens, glycoproteins and polysaccharides. These can trigger antigenic and innate immune responses, separate from the toxins they carry. Angioedema and anaphylaxis it can happen.

How is Australian box jellyfish poisoning diagnosed?

Diagnosis of Australian box jellyfish poisoning depends on looking at typical clinical features and looking at a responsible jellyfish. A definitive diagnosis is based on the nematocysts characteristic of the Australian box jellyfish found. The adhesive tape can be used to collect skin samples for research and identification purposes.

What is the treatment for Australian jellyfish stings?

First aid treatment includes removing the person from the water without endangering rescuers.

A clothed rescuer is unlikely to have poisoning since Australian box jellyfish nematocysts do not effectively pierce even thin clothing.

• Once grounded, apply vinegar for at least 30 seconds after poisoning; This disables penetrating nematocysts. Many Australian tropical beaches contain vinegar stations with clearly marked bottles for public use in the event of marine poisoning. (Vinegar is one of the few chemicals, including ethanol, which is known to cause massive toxins. download in an investigation, in vitro context but not in the rescue setting, where vinegar prevents further toxin discharge when applied to the skin).
• Peel off remaining tentacles with fingertips (box jellyfish nematocysts do not penetrate thick palm skin).
• Basic and advanced life support may be required, depending on the degree of poisoning and morbidity seen in each case.

Heat is not recommended as part of standard treatment, although it can reduce the lethality of the poison when kept above 43 ° C since the use of heat can discourage more valuable efforts in symptom control and resuscitation.

Do not apply pressure immobilization bandages as these can trigger further toxin discharge.

What is the role of antivenom?

• Intravenous antivenom has been available since the 1970s.
• Antivenom is reserved for intractable pain, possible severe scarring, and cardiorespiratory instability.
• Reduces cardiac morbidity and decreases pain, local tissue damage, and scarring.
• Until 2013, no Adverse reactions antivenom had been reported.

Which are the therapeutic used for Australian box jellyfish venom?

Cnidarian poisons have been investigated as a potential source of new bioactive therapeutic compounds. Collagen Australian box jellyfish hood improvement immunoglobulins M and G, interferon and tumor production of necrosis factor by humans lymphocytes, in addition to improving inflammatory cytokine secretion, antibody secretion and cause population changes immune cells.