The Northern Territory Department of Health and Community Services is reminding Territorians not to enter the sea because of the risk of box jellyfish stings.
The warning follows 3 serious box jellyfish stings in the last 10 days. The 3 separate cases resulted in the patients being admitted to Territory hospitals.
Director of the NT's Centre for Disease Control (CDC) Dr Vicki Krause said that parents should keep their children out of the sea during the stinger season, which is from October 1st through till the end of May.
Dr Krause said adults should also heed the warning.
Research at the Menzies School of Health Research has found that box jellyfish stings are especially common when the weather clears after spells of heavy winds.
It is thought that with storms the box jellyfish move out to sea and sink to depths to avoid the rough seas.
When the weather becomes calmer the box jellyfish return to shallow waters to feed and this is a dangerous period.
The last fatality in the Northern Territory from a box jellyfish sting was in November last year when a six-year-old boy died.
All of the last 11 deaths from box jellyfish stings in the Territory have been in children, showing how important it is for children not to enter the sea during the stinger season.
Some tips about box jellyfish are provided in the fact sheet available from the Centre for Disease Control publications website.
Media inquiries: Cameron Jackson, DHCS Media Support Officer on 0401 116 144.
Release date: 24 January 2008
