Irukandji Jellyfish The World’s Most Dangerous Jellyfish

Irukandji Jellyfish is the smallest species of the box jellyfish apart from being tiny it is also the most poisonous. The name Irukandji comes from the Irukandji people who are the aboriginal people of Australia.

The size of this jellyfish is about 1cm cube which makes it very difficult to see it in ocean. Also even if the size of the Jellyfish is 1 cm cube but its tentacles can be up to 1 meter long. Total five species have been identified. The majority of jellyfish have been found waters of the northern part of Australia. However reports from many other parts of the world have also been reported.

The Jellyfish has stinger in its tentacles which it uses for hunting tiny fishes and one more specialty about this jellyfish is that it also has stings on its bell. The specialty of this jellyfish is that it has ability to fire stinger and release venom in its prey. The sting is so powerful that smaller preys are instantly paralyzed.

The sting of this jellyfish is very toxic. It causes the Irukandji Syndrome which causes cramps in the limb, pain in body and sweating. It may lead to fatal brain hemorrhages in severe cases. After being stung the victim feels the most intense pain for about 30 minutes. But the symptoms may last up to days and sometimes for weeks some of the victims also hospitalized. On pain index of 0 to 10 the sting is ranked at 12 which is very intense pain.

Treatment is applying vinegar on sting area to deactivate unfired stings. However it doesn’t affect venom which has entered the blood stream. Opiates, painkillers, antihistamines, antihypertensive are used for treatment. Hospitalization may be required in severe cases.

Also the exact number of death from this jellyfish is unknown as death from this jellyfish may be thought to be death from something else. Only two people have been thought to be died because of this jellyfish but calculating the exact number of deaths because of this jellyfish is quite difficult.

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