Woman hospitalized after bite from venomous octopus

A woman in Australia was rushed to the hospital on Thursday after she was bitten by a highly venomous octopus.

The unnamed woman in her 30s was swimming at Chinamans Beach in New South Wales when she was bitten on the stomach by a blue-ringed octopus, The Australian reported.

“This woman … picked up a shell. It contained a small blue-ringed octopus which fell out and bit her twice on the stomach,” New South Wales ambulance inspector Christian Holmes told the outlet.

The victim subsequently experienced abdominal pain, prompting paramedics to apply pressure and a cold compress before transferring her to the Royal North Shore Hospital.

Blue-ringed octopuses are small creatures found in the Pacific and Indian oceans, and are common along the Australian coastline. 

The retiring cephalopods only attack when provoked, but their venom contains tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin that blocks the transmission of nerve impulses and is up to 1,000 times more toxic than cyanide. 

Left untreated, a bite — which is often small and painless — can induce respiratory arrest, heart failure, paralysis, blindness and eventually death from suffocation.

Despite their size, a single one of the deadly octopuses carries enough venom to kill 26 adult humans within minutes.

Luckily, the Chinamans Beach victim is reportedly in stable condition.

The culprit octopus was also captured by the ambulance service.

“A blue-ringed octopus bite is a rare call for us but they are extremely venomous,” Holmes said.