1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: Many of us steer clear of the ocean due to 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:06,960 Speaker 1: crocodiles and sharks. Across the Northern Territory, another threat has returned, 3 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:11,720 Speaker 1: prompting a warning from NT Health. Stinger season has officially started, 4 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:14,520 Speaker 1: with venomous box jellyfish likely to be in the waters 5 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:17,959 Speaker 1: up until June next year. Now joining me on the 6 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:21,720 Speaker 1: line right now is Royal Dale and Hospital's professor of Medicine. 7 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:23,639 Speaker 2: But Curry, good morning to you. 8 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 3: Bart, Good morning now. 9 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 2: But tell me a little bit. 10 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 1: More about what we sort of need to know now 11 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:31,360 Speaker 1: that stinger season is upon us. 12 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:35,839 Speaker 3: Yeah, well, from the first of October through to the 13 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:39,640 Speaker 3: end of May, we advise that people basically do not 14 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 3: enter the sea water because that's the period when the 15 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:48,559 Speaker 3: major box jellyfish enters our waters from the estuaries and 16 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 3: basically periphylates and has a season over that period of 17 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:55,320 Speaker 3: time in our sort of coastal waters. 18 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: And doctor Curry, you know, for those who maybe haven't 19 00:00:57,960 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: lived in the territory a long time or don't know 20 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:04,360 Speaker 1: a huge amount about box jellyfish, I mean we're talking 21 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:07,240 Speaker 1: about really very dangerous creatures, aren't we. 22 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:14,560 Speaker 3: Yes, Well, the envenoming process from our major box jellyfish 23 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:21,679 Speaker 3: is recognized as the fastest envenoming process in the natural world, 24 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:26,320 Speaker 3: so far faster in onset of symptoms and potentially death 25 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:30,959 Speaker 3: than with snake bite in particular or spider bye. And 26 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:34,280 Speaker 3: so it is a particular message that we have for 27 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:38,640 Speaker 3: children because the last fourteen deaths in the Northern Territory 28 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 3: top end waters have all been in children. 29 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 1: And is it because they're sort of lurking in that 30 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: shallow water or you know what's the reason for that. 31 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 3: Well, the reason for the children is firstly that the 32 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 3: jellyfish do come into the on still days where the 33 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:59,360 Speaker 3: water is calm. The jellyfish come into very very shallow waters, 34 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:02,200 Speaker 3: so they can be literally in ankle deep water or 35 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 3: even in puddles of seawater left on the beach by 36 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 3: receding tides. And with children there's much smaller, particularly young children, 37 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:16,160 Speaker 3: they're much smaller body surface area. Means that a meter 38 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,600 Speaker 3: of tentacle contact with a child, a very young child, 39 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:23,240 Speaker 3: is potentially life threatening, whereas in a big, bulky adult, 40 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:26,000 Speaker 3: a meter of tentacle contact will cause really severe pain 41 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:29,080 Speaker 3: where the tentacles are wrapped around, but it won't kill 42 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 3: that adult. 43 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:33,240 Speaker 1: It's pretty scary stuff because you're quite often, I suppose, 44 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:35,840 Speaker 1: sort of sea kids, you know, down at the nightcliff, 45 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 1: full shore or different areas, having a bit of a 46 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:40,239 Speaker 1: bit of a play in those shallow waters. 47 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:45,880 Speaker 3: Yes, so I think that people who have lived here 48 00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:49,160 Speaker 3: for a while all aware that basically you keep kids 49 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 3: out of the water full stop. And so it's important 50 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:56,520 Speaker 3: that if people have friends and family visiting, or if 51 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:58,880 Speaker 3: they see tourists who may not be aware of this, 52 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 3: then the it is absolutely the right thing to say, 53 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:04,360 Speaker 3: Look now is the time you definitely don't go in 54 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:07,240 Speaker 3: the water. There are the signs along the beaches in 55 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:10,119 Speaker 3: the Darwin area, but one of the things is that 56 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,720 Speaker 3: the majority of the fatal things that have happened have 57 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:17,800 Speaker 3: been out in remoter parts of the territory coastline. 58 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 1: Doctor Curry, When is the last time that somebody was 59 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 1: either stung by box jellyfish or fatally stung by one? 60 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 3: Oh? Well, we get things every year, so the vast 61 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 3: majority will not be fatal. So the figure that we 62 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:32,799 Speaker 3: put out is a round about forty people a year 63 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 3: will present to Darwin Hospital or maybe go hospital or 64 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 3: a remote health center with jellyfish things. And our last 65 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:46,560 Speaker 3: fatality in the territory fortunately was almost fifteen years ago, 66 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 3: which was in November two thousand and seven. That was 67 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 3: a six year old boy in a remote location in 68 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 3: the Northern territory. But there have been in the last 69 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:57,640 Speaker 3: two years. There was a death in February this year 70 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:00,560 Speaker 3: in a fourteen year old boy in North queens in Mackay, 71 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:03,880 Speaker 3: and then in March twenty twenty one last year there 72 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:05,880 Speaker 3: was a seventeen year old boy who died up on 73 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:09,360 Speaker 3: the cape in Bamagha. So those two queens And deaths 74 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 3: have really made the people in our friends and colleagues 75 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:16,560 Speaker 3: in Queensland well aware that box jellyfish are across the 76 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:18,160 Speaker 3: whole of Northern Australian waters. 77 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:19,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, no doubt about that. 78 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:21,920 Speaker 1: Are those sort of launching boats sort of at risk 79 00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 1: as well, I would assume, you know, given the fact 80 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 1: that they're in some of that shallow water at different times. 81 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 3: Yes, certainly the box jellyfish will will come in around 82 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:34,280 Speaker 3: around boat rams for sure, and people who have been 83 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:37,440 Speaker 3: long term fishes up here will have seen box jellyfish 84 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 3: on the karma days, around the pylons of some of 85 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:45,280 Speaker 3: the boat ramps and at all the jetties. So it's 86 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:48,159 Speaker 3: recommended that when people do need to enter the water, 87 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:52,039 Speaker 3: will be adults hopefully to launch their boats, that they're wearing, 88 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:55,960 Speaker 3: you know, wearing long sleeves if their arms are going 89 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:57,800 Speaker 3: to be in the water, and then long trousers or 90 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 3: quite a few people will wear stinger suits or equivalent 91 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:03,480 Speaker 3: of singing suits, so basically basically clothing that will cover 92 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:06,839 Speaker 3: their skin so that there's no exposed skin for the 93 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:10,320 Speaker 3: tentacles to attach to and then fire off their sort 94 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 3: of venomous stinging cells. 95 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:15,839 Speaker 1: Yeah, but I guess the question on everybody's lips this 96 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:17,880 Speaker 1: morning is going to be you know, what do you 97 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 1: do if you are unfortunately stung? 98 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 3: Yeah. So the first thing is that quite often people 99 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:27,440 Speaker 3: the pain is instantaneous, so people will often be screaming 100 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:29,960 Speaker 3: out while they're in the water. So people need to 101 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:32,360 Speaker 3: be removed from the water or come out of the water, 102 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:35,440 Speaker 3: or if they're on the beach and they're starting to 103 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:38,520 Speaker 3: scream out, the most important thing is to assess the 104 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:43,560 Speaker 3: person as to whether they're still breathing and whether they've 105 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,280 Speaker 3: still got a heart, got a heart that's pumping. So 106 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:50,360 Speaker 3: the thing that may potentially save a life is early 107 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:55,440 Speaker 3: CPR cardiopulmonary resuscitation in someone who has had a collapse 108 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:59,000 Speaker 3: on the beach and is unconscious, and CPR is the 109 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:01,280 Speaker 3: one thing that made just save a life in those 110 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:06,200 Speaker 3: first five to ten minutes, with the potential that calling 111 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:08,600 Speaker 3: and then of course calling for help at the same 112 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:12,480 Speaker 3: time dialing triple zero, and then potentially the person can 113 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:15,520 Speaker 3: get up to the hospital where there is anti venom available. 114 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:17,760 Speaker 2: Well, Dr bart Curry, I'll tell you what. 115 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:21,200 Speaker 1: Between the crocodiles and the box jellyfish, it's probably best 116 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:21,520 Speaker 1: to just. 117 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:22,320 Speaker 2: Stay out of the water. 118 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:25,560 Speaker 3: Yes, yeah, I think you know. The swimming pools are 119 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:29,800 Speaker 3: still there, so i'd encourage you to give those a go. 120 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:33,400 Speaker 1: Good advice, I reckon, Dr bart Curry. It is always 121 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:35,200 Speaker 1: good to catch up with you. Thank you so much 122 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:36,280 Speaker 1: for your time this morning. 123 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:38,000 Speaker 3: Yeah, thanks very much. 124 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:38,720 Speaker 2: Thank you.