title: Impact of stinging jellyfish proliferations along south Italian coasts: human health hazards, treatment and social costs.
abstract: Stinging jellyfish outbreaks represent a health hazard, causing contact dermatitis and systemic reactions. This study investigated the epidemiology, severity, and treatment protocols of jellyfish stings in a coastal area with high tourist development and frequent stinging jellyfish outbreaks of the central Mediterranean (Salento, Southern Italy), and the associated costs for the Italian National Health Service. In 2007-2011, 1,733 bathers (mostly children and females) sought medical assistance following jellyfish stings, the main cause of human pathologies due to contact with marine organisms. The majority of events were reported in the years 2007-2009, whereas the occurrence of cnidarian jellyfish outbreaks has been increasingly reported in the same area since summer 2010. Most symptoms were limited to local and cutaneous reactions; conversely, 8.7% of cases evoked complications, mainly due to allergic reactions. The main drugs used were corticosteroids, locally applied and systemic (46% and 43%, respectively), and with ammonia (74%) as the main non-pharmacological treatment. The estimated cost of jellyfish-related first-aid services along the Salento coastline over the 5-year period was approximately 400,000 Euros. Therefore the management of jellyfish outbreak phenomena need coordinated research efforts towards a better understanding of underlying ecological mechanisms, together with the adoption of effective prevention policy, mitigation strategies, and appropriate planning of health services at tourist hot spots.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DiSTeBA), University of Salento, Lecce 73100, Italy. antonella.dedonno@unisalento.it.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Donno
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DiSTeBA), University of Salento, Lecce 73100, Italy. adele.idolo@unisalento.it.
authors.forename: Adele
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Idolo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DiSTeBA), University of Salento, Lecce 73100, Italy. francesco.bagordo@unisalento.it.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bagordo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DiSTeBA), University of Salento, Lecce 73100, Italy. tiziana.grassi@unisalento.it.
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Grassi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DiSTeBA), University of Salento, Lecce 73100, Italy. alessandro.leomanni@unisalento.it.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leomanni
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DiSTeBA), University of Salento, Lecce 73100, Italy. francesca.serio@unisalento.it.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Serio
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DiSTeBA), University of Salento, Lecce 73100, Italy. marcello.guido@unisalento.it.
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guido
authors.affiliation: Local Health Authority of Lecce (ASL/LE), Lecce 73100, Italy. dirsan@ausl.le.it.
authors.forename: Mariarita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Canitano
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DiSTeBA), University of Salento, Lecce 73100, Italy. serena.zampardi@unisalento.it.
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zampardi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DiSTeBA), University of Salento, Lecce 73100, Italy. francesco.bagordo@unisalento.it.
authors.forename: Ferdinando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Boero
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DiSTeBA), University of Salento, Lecce 73100, Italy. stefano.piraino@unisalento.it.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Piraino
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001493:Bathing Beaches / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003064:Cnidarian Venoms / Q000633:toxicity*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D037462:Cubozoa; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D019083:Mediterranean Region / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011157:Population Dynamics; D037401:Scyphozoa; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003064:Cnidarian Venoms