Doctors wonder how 10-year-old Australian is still alive after being attacked by the world's most venomous creature; say it's a miracle
Doctors wonder how 10-year-old Australian is still alive after being attacked by the world's most venomous creature; say it's a miracleu00a0u00a0
A ten-year-old girl has become the first person ever to have survived an attack from a lethal box jellyfish, the world's most venomous creature.
Rachael Shardlow was stung by the creature while swimming in the Calliope River, near Gladstone, in Queensland, Australia.
Rachael's 13-year-old brother pulled her on to the riverbank. She told him she could not see or breathe, and fell unconscious with the jellyfish's tentacles still strapped to her limbs.
Zoology and tropical ecology associate professor at James Cook University, Jamie Seymour, says the girl's survival after such an extensive sting is unheard of.
"I don't know of anybody in the entire literature where we have studied that someone has had such an extensive sting and has survived the attack," he said.
"When I first saw the pictures of the injuries I just went, 'you know to be honest, this kid should not be alive'. Usually when you see people who have been stung by box jellyfish with that number ofu00a0 tentacle contacts on their body, it's usually in a morgue," he added.
Seymour says the university is interested to see how long it takes for Rachael to recover, as well as whether there are any long-term effects.
Side effects
Rachael's father, Geoff Shardlow, says his daughter has scarring as well as some short-term memory loss.
"The greatest fear was actual brain damage but her cognitive skills and memory tests were all fine," he said.
Shardlow says it is vital there are more jellyfish warning signs erected throughout central Queensland.
Did you know?Box jellyfish has enough poison to kill 60 adults
