Girl lucky to be alive after deadly sting

SYDNEY – A 10-year-old Australian girl who survived being stung by the world’s most venomous creature, the deadly box jellyfish, may have rewritten medical history, an expert said yesterday.

Schoolgirl Rachael Shardlow lost consciousness after being badly stung by the jellyfish while swimming in a river in eastern Queensland state with her brother in December, but lived to tell the tale.’When I first saw the pictures of the injuries I just went, ‘you know to be honest, this kid should not be alive’,’ said Jamie Seymour, professor of zoology and tropical ecology at James Cook University.Often deadly, the box jellyfish has long, trailing tentacles and is able to squeeze through even the smallest of nets as it is only the size of a fingernail.The venom is so overpoweringly painful that victims often go in shock and drown or die of heart failure before reaching shore.There is no effective antivenom for its sting, which attacks the heart, nervous system and skin, inducing shooting muscle pain, vomiting and a rapid rise in blood pressure.After the rescue by her brother, she spent six weeks recovering in hospital before returning home.The young girl’s father, Geoff Shardlow, told the ABC that his daughter had suffered scarring to her legs and some short-term memory loss.- Nampa-AFP

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