Qld: British tourist first victim of deadly stinger
A British tourist has become the first person in the world to die after being stungby the tiny but extremely painful IRUKANDJI jellyfish.
The 58-year-old man brushed against the stinger while swimming off Hamilton Islandin north Queensland's Whitsundays on Wednesday.
Hamilton Island Resort spokeswoman SUSAN BOYD says the sting aggravated the man's pre-existingheart condition and blood pressure, leading to a cerebral haemorrhage.
However, James Cook University Zoologist JAMIE SEYMOUR urges swimmers not to panic.
He says that if a post-mortem examination proves the death to be the result of IRUKANDJIsyndrome, it will be the first such death anywhere in the world.
Almost nothing is known about the peanut-sized stinger, which until yesterday had claimedno lives.
Its intensely painful sting sent 79 people to Cairns Base Hospital in December and January.
The Irukandji is related to Australia's other deadly stinger, the highly poisonous box jellyfish.
AAP RTV jb/sc/dl/rt
KEYWORD: JELLYFISH (TOWNSVILLE)
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