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Seabather’s eruption: Rash plaguing Auckland beachgoers
Auckland Council is urging beach-goers to exercise caution after swimmers report itching, rashes, or red spots after entering the water.
The council’s environmental health technical specialist Darryl Thompson said it was seabather’s eruption – a rash caused by stings from the nematocysts – or stinging cells – of certain sea anemones and thimble jellyfishes.
However, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) emeritus researcher Dr Dennis Gordon told RNZ the rash could be caused by sea lice, a completely different type of organism, instead.
Gordon said seabather’s eruption in Auckland was likely to caused by a siphonophorae.
“Divers call it the long, stringy, stingy thingy because it looks like long strings with little bubbles attached in the plankton.
“The little bubbles are little individuals because it is a colony, and they can break off in the seawater and get trapped between your bathers and your skin.
“The movement of your swimming togs when you’re swimming causes these things to activate.”
Auckland woman Tracy and her two daughters developed a rash after swimming at Takapuna Beach on Tuesday afternoon.
She told RNZ her daughter had said that she saw a jellyfish.
A rash on Tracy’s daughter’s torso after swimming at Takapuna Beach. Photo: Supplied
Hundreds of people replied to a Facebook post she made, having also developed a rash after swimming at various beaches along the east coast – including Martins Bay, Brick Bay Beach, Ōrewa Beach, Stanmore Bay, Long Bay Beach, Mairangi Bay Beach, Milford Beach, Castor Bay Beach, Cheltenham Beach, Narrow Neck Beach, Onetangi Beach, and Oneroa Beach.
As of Wednesday, Safeswim had only warned to exercise caution at Ōrewa Beach and Milford Beach.
However, further warnings had been issued for Takapuna Beach and Big Manly Beach on Thursday.
Another Auckland woman, Juliette, thought her daughter had chickenpox until she saw the post Tracy had made.
She told RNZ her daughter went swimming at Ōrewa Beach on Monday.
“I didn’t notice anything unusual until Tuesday during bath time when she told me she had pimples.
“It was kind of on the areas where her swimsuit was. It was in patches, not really spread all over.
“At first, I thought it was the beginning of chickenpox, but she wasn’t unwell, so I decided to wait and keep an eye on it. Then I found that post on Facebook, and it all made sense.”
While Laura, who went swimming at Mairangi Bay Beach on Wednesday, said a pharmacist told her that it was sea lice.
“Our girl had red spots all over her torso, legs and arms. The pharmacist said that four people had been in this morning with the same.”
Sea lice tend to bite uncovered parts of the body and leave itchy red dots on the skin, similar to a mosquito or flea bite. Sea bather’s eruption, on the other hand, occurs under swimwear and can consist of hundreds to thousands of little red dots that may join together to form larger patches or appear as weals.
The Auckland Regional Public Health Service said children were the most affected by seabather’s eruption.
The rash could vary from being mild to severe, and could last for a week or more.
It said calamine lotion, antihistamines and mild steroid creams could help. However, some children can become unwell with headaches, nausea and lethargy for several days, and would require treatment with steroid tablets or syrup instead.
~RNZ
The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
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