Among dangerous creatures in the ocean, box jellyfish rank high as one of the most venomous. Thankfully, the creatures mostly inhabit specific pockets around the world, notably the north coast of Australia. Recently, however, box jellyfish, whose sting can sometimes kill humans in minutes, have turned up in the waters off of Thailand�s coast.

The antidote to the sting from a box jellyfish is simple vinegar, and one Australian man who had a near-fatal brush with a box jellyfish in the Gulf of Thailand is leading a charge to raise public awareness. Last December, Andrew Jones� 6-year-old son, Lewis, was stung while swimming off of Koh Maak island, which neighbours Koh Chang. Not knowing treatment procedures, Jones peeled the gelatinous tentacles from his son�s legs only to get stung himself. Soon Lewis� screams of agony subsided; his face turned blue, and his heart stopped pumping for two minutes. Miraculously, Lewis survived.

Since then, Jones has contacted experts in the field, embassies, guidebook publishers, government officials and news agencies in an effort to increase public awareness. Box jellyfish are �lurking in (Thailand�s) waters, and someone has to take responsibility before more people die,� he says.

Locally, marine researchers have listened to Jones� pleas, launching a study of box jellyfish and their presence in the waters of coastal Thailand. Dr. Somchai Bussarawit, lead researcher at the Phuket Marine Biological Centre (PMBC), recently collected samples of box jellyfish off the coast of Koh Lanta. The research project started only a few months ago, and Khun Somchai and PMBC Director Wannakiat Thubthimsang note that they have much to learn about box jellyfish. From the evidence so far, however, they don�t consider the it to present a significant danger in Thailand.

�No, I don�t think so,� Khun Wannakiat says. �We should start research and send some messages to tourists and the local community. We can tell people not to touch jellyfish, but we cannot announce that there are some jellyfish in this area.�

Somchai explains that box jellyfish are classified as cubozoans, a class of invertebrates with both poisonous and non-poisonous jellyfish. The deadly species found in Australia is chironex fleckeri. The PMRC has not definitively identified the species found in Thai waters, and the centre is working with Australian marine biologists on a classification.

�Box jellyfish seem to prefer certain habitats, such as mangroves, to grow and reproduce,� he says. �So occurrence is likely to differ a lot, and some areas, like Koh Phi Phi, the West Coast of Thailand, etc., may not be suitable at all. Other areas, like Koh Chang and Koh Lanta, may be their habitat.�

Peter Fenner is one of the world�s foremost experts on the subject of box jellyfish. He states in a letter written to Thai public safety officials: �Thailand has had at least 10 deaths of which I am aware over the past 20 years; though it is more than likely, as I have found in the Philippines, that this is just the tip of the iceberg with other deaths occurring that aren�t publicised, as they occur in local population.

�Box Jellyfish stings are in no way an �allergic� reaction ... Deaths occur from injected venom from the jellyfish causing breathing and heart effects that can cause death within minutes if not treated correctly and promptly,� he writes. Reactions will vary, but if left untreated, even the healthiest individuals could die of envenomation.

In Australia, prevention measures mean large nets and a supply of vinegar on the most popular beaches, plus lifeguard training across the country. In Thailand, Somchai says, the PMRC is preparing an informational poster on box jellyfish.

Averaging one documented death every two years, Thailand�s waters don�t present a common risk to the hundreds of thousands of tourists visiting beaches each year. Andrew Hewitt runs The Adventure Dive Club and has been working on Koh Phi Phi for 14 years.

�I�ve never heard of any box jellyfish around Phi Phi,� he says. �Their stings are very bad, so you�d hear about them if they were around.�

Jamie Monk has been working in Phuket�s dive business for more than a decade, with over 1,000 dives. He, too, has yet to hear of any box jellyfish sightings: �I�ve been here 10 years, and I�ve never seen a box jellyfish. I�ve never even heard of one being seen.�

�No one�s claiming there�s an epidemic, a plague or any reason to panic,� Jones explains in a post to an Internet forum. �All I�m saying is that box jellyfish exist in Thai waters, people get stung, people die, and if one gets you or your family it�s a big problem.�

Statistically speaking, people living or vacationing on Phuket are more likely to come into contact with other dangers. Every year more people die in traffic accidents, rip currents, and muggings than from jellyfish stings. Yet road conditions, ocean tides and deviant social behaviour are all much more difficult problems to fix than a sting from a box jellyfish.

Unlike expensive policing of the roads, beaches and neighbourhoods, box jellyfish stings have a simple antidote that saves lives. Ordinary table vinegar applied immediately after a sting neutralizes millions of nematocysts (stingers), which dramatically reduces the amount of venom which can enter the victim�s body. The stinging cells should be flooded with vinegar as soon as possible, and for at least 10 minutes before removal of the tentacles.

If vinegar is not available, urine and sea water are much less effective treatments. False remedies, such as freshwater, any form of alcohol, ice, lotions and potions, should never be applied to the wound before vinegar or some other form of ammonia, as these solutions can actually induce the stingers to fill the victim�s body with more venom, therefore ending most hope for recovery.