AUSTRALIA – A young girl has baffled doctors and scientists by surviving the sting of one the world’s most venomous creature!
The box jellyfish, one of the most deadliest jellyfish in the world, is known as a “killer” species to say the least. It’s venom is so overpoweringly painful that its victims often go into shock and drown or die of heart failure. If that wasn’t bad enough, there is no effective antivenom for the box jellyfish’s sting. The venom attacks the heart, nervous system and skin, induces shooting muscle pain, vomiting and a rapid rise in blood-pressure. Rachael Shardlow experienced the deadly sting first hand and survived.
“When I first saw the pictures of the injuries, I just went, ‘You know, to be honest, this kid should not be alive,'” zoology professor Jamie Seymour, from Crook University told ABC News. “I mean, they are horrific. Usually when you see people who have been stung by box jellyfish with that number of the tentacles on their body, it’s usually in a morgue.”
Rachael, 10, was swimming in the Queensland’s Calliope River when she felt the sting of the box jellyfish on her legs. Her 13-year-old brother puller her ashore and she told him that she could not see or breathe. A few moments later she went unconscious where she remained for roughly 30 minutes.
The young girl spent six weeks in the hospital recovering before she could return home. Aside from scarring to her legs and some short-term memory loss, Rachael’s father says that she is in good health. Doctor’s are reviewing the incident in the hopes of finding a more accurate cure to the box jellyfish’s sting.