Boy dies from jellyfish sting

DIGOS CITY, Philippines—An eight-year-old boy died after he was stung by a jellyfish while swimming at a beach resort in Malalag, Davao del Sur, on Friday afternoon, a report reaching the provincial police office here said.

The incident at the beach in Sitio Babak in Barangay Bulacan was the first fatal jellyfish sting recorded in the province as far as he could tell,  provincial police director Senior Superintendent Ronaldo Llanera  said.

Llanera said Gerald Relacion, a Grade II pupil at the Malalag Elementary School, was swimming at the beach around 2:15 p.m. with his parents when he brushed against a jellyfish.

“The victim complained to his parents that he was stung and that it was so painful,” Llanera added.

Llanera said when the parents examined the part of the boy’s body that was stung, they found rashes that immediately spread to his face.

The boy was taken to the Golingay Medical Clinic but was declared clinically dead by the attending physician around 5:45 p.m., he said.

Llanera said that according to the post-mortem report that the physician signed, the boy died from complications due to the jellyfish toxin.  However, the species of jellyfish involved was not identified in the report.

A fisheries expert who did not wish to be identified by name said he suspected that the species the boy brushed against was a type of Box Jellyfish known as Chironex fleckeri.

Also known as sea wasp, C. fleckeri, the fisheries expert said, is among the deadliest jellyfish species because of its very potent venom.

It is found in the Asia Pacific region.

In Australia alone, this particular jellyfish species has already killed nearly 70 people since 1983, he said.

“Children are especially vulnerable to the venom because of their small body mass,” he said.

The fisheries expert said victims could be saved from sure death if properly treated.

He said there were local items that could help serve as anti-venom if medical centers are far from reach.

“The common vinegar has been confirmed to effectively treat jellyfish sting as it disables the vessels that carry the venom before it discharges into the blood vessels,” he said. “But be sure to use towels when removing the tentacles left on the victim’s skin because a second sting would be equally deadly.”

The expert said Malalag authorities should  quarantine the area and prohibit swimming there to prevent more fatal stings.