Epidemiology of the cnidarian Pelagia noctiluca stings on Moroccan Mediterranean beaches

Abstract

<jats:p> An epidemiological study on the stings of Pelagia noctiluca was carried out on four Mediterranean beaches in Morocco. Data were retrieved from patients seeking medical treatment after a jellyfish sting. A total of 1321 patients presented with P. noctiluca stings during the summer of 2018. Most of the injuries were observed in persons aged 11–20 years. The stings were located more on the lower (53%) than on the upper limbs (27%). A total of 61% of those seeking treatment were Moroccan tourists, 29% were local residents and 9% were foreign tourists. The main medications provided were antiseptics (54%), non-pharmacological treatments (41%) and antibiotics (4%). The continuing presence of P. noctiluca in the Moroccan Mediterranean makes it necessary to set effective strategies to prevent and minimise their impact. </jats:p>

Inhibition of Nematocyst Discharge from Pelagia noctiluca (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa)—Prevention Measures against Jellyfish Stings

“…Jellyfish stings represent a human health hazard and have a negative impact on the tourism sector [9,10,18,24]. In the Mediterranean region, P. noctiluca is responsible for a high number of incidents among beachgoers [10,18,22,24].…”

“…Jellyfish stings represent a human health hazard and have a negative impact on the tourism sector [9,10,18,24]. In the Mediterranean region, P. noctiluca is responsible for a high number of incidents among beachgoers [10,18,22,24]. Its high toxicity along with its wide distribution and high frequency in the basin [15,21,22] have positioned P. noctiluca as a target species for preventive measures, especially those that help to prevent and mitigate the effects of its sting [23,28,34,40,41].…”

“…Jellyfish stings cause clinical signs such as erythema, redness or papules accompanied by pain, burning sensation and itching [14,23,24]. Active ingredients that reduce skin damage and/or pain or burning sensation, as well as inhibiting nematocyst discharge provide added value in preventive products.…”

“…This scyphozoan is a highly toxic species, and its venom has hemolytic, cytolytic and dermonecrotic properties, among others [19,21]. Due to its wide distribution along the basin [15,22] and high toxicity [19,21], P. noctiluca results in a large number of beachgoers seeking assistance from medical and rescue services on the Mediterranean beaches of Spain, Italy, France and Morocco [10,18,[22][23][24]. Its cnidome-a term that includes the total complement of cnidocytes within a cnidarian specimen [25]-is composed of four nematocyst types (a-isorhiza, A-isorhiza, O-isorhiza and eurytele), of which the O-isorhiza and eurytele types play an important role in its sting [25].…”