A Bournemouth man has been battling a terminal disease after a sandfly bite during a trip to South America.
Ruairi Overy-Hennesy, 22, began a five-week journey volunteering in Manu National Park in Peru in June 2023.
In the weeks shortly after his return, he began to experience unusual symptoms.
The most alarming symptom was a small hole that opened at the top of his left hand.
He sought medical attention in October 2023 and was quickly referred to Poole, Salisbury, and Southampton General Hospital.
Following this, he received a diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL).
The diagnosis initially made Mr Overy-Hennesy relieved but was the beginning of months of treatment.
“Leishmaniasis is horrendous, it’s terrifying, we were celebrating not having cancer, but this is nasty,” he said.
One treatment he was given led him to have a stage 3 acute kidney injury.
He said: “My kidney function was seven times worse than it should’ve been.”
Mr. Overy-Hennesy will now have check-ups for the rest of his life.
“There is no evidence of leishmaniasis being curable, it can relapse at any point, that’s scary, there’s treatment but not cure.”
He now urges all travellers to be aware of the risk of this often-deadly disease.
“For people who travel, leishmaniasis isn’t just in South America, there are other strains in central America, Asia, Africa, and even southern Europe.”
According to the World Health Organisation, it is estimated that 600,000 to one million new cases occur worldwide annually.
“I am so lucky to have free health care, not everyone has that luxury, it is called the parasite of the poor because that’s who it affects the most”.
Mr Overy-Henessy added: “There’s not enough education around the world, and there’s not enough money being raised to help these people out, I’m one of the lucky ones who have free health care.”
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