Victorian woman spends two days in hospital after being stung on neck off Fitzroy Island

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A female snorkeller is lucky to be alive after suffering heart failure following an Irukandji jellyfish sting in far north Queensland.

The 39-year-old Victorian woman was snorkelling off Fitzroy Island last Friday when she was stung on the neck by the deadly, thumbnail-sized jellyfish.

The tourist, Ayllie White, told the Courier-Mail: “All of a sudden, I felt what I thought was sea mites and a tingling sensation.”

Great Barrier Reef: third fatality in a week as British tourist dies on dive Read more

“Five minutes later, I got this searing pain across my neck. And then quite quickly after that, the other symptoms, which were much scarier [started], were just really heavy limbs, struggling to breathe and a tightness across my chest.”

White made it to shore, where she received first aid treatment before being flown to hospital where she went into heart failure. She was diagnosed with takotsubo cardiomyopathy, or broken heart syndrome, which is a weakening of the left ventricle.

She spent two days in intensive care at Cairns Hospital after her heart slowed to a quarter of its capacity before being discharged on Wednesday, Queensland Ambulance Service said.

The latest episode follows speculation that Irukandji may be to blame for a spate of recent deaths on the reef.

map of suspected Irukandji jellyfish sting sites Three deaths in November near where the Victorian woman was stung were blamed on Irukandji jellyfish.

A 60-year-old British man died while diving on Agincourt reef, 100km north of Cairns in mid-November.

In the same week, two French tourists died on the reef. Jacques Goron, 76, and Danielle Franck, 74, died within minutes of each other while snorkelling at Michaelmas Cay, also near Cairns. Both had pre-existing medical conditions and it is believed both suffered heart attacks.

An Australian cardiologist has speculated whether they were stung by Irukandji jellyfish.

The Irukandji is one of the world’s most venomous creatures. Its toxin can send the body into cardiac arrest within 20 minutes.

In 2002, a 58-year-old British tourist Richard Jordan was believed to have been the first person to have died after being stung by an Irukandji. He was stung whilst swimming off Hamilton Island, in north Queensland’s Whitsundays, and the sting aggravated a pre-existing heart condition and blood pressure causing cerebral haemorrhage.