Ben Fogle’s flesh-eating bug returns

By Ruth Doherty  on Friday 27 March 2009

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TV presenter Ben Fogle faces more chemotherapy after the tropical flesh-eating disease he contracted last summer returned.

The 35-year-old former reality TV star contracted leishmaniasis from a sand fly last summer while filming in Peru for the series Extreme Dreams.

He has already undergone months of treatment to eradicate the disease, but now faces more gruelling rounds of chemo to clear it up after its return, following Fogle’s 500-mile trek to the South Pole in December with Olympic rower James Cracknell.

He told the Telegraph: 'I am facing six weeks of chemotherapy and going to hospital for several hours a day to be put on drips to treat this condition.

'I am really frustrated as I am normally so active.'

Friends told of how Fogle suffered regular bouts of sickness and muscle seizures.

Leishmaniasisis, which can cause disfigurement, is a potentially life-threatening condition, usually taking months to recover with treatment.

The return of the bug is just another setback for Fogle, whose wife Marina suffered a miscarriage just days before he set off for the South Pole.

But defiant Fogle is determined to beat the condition, telling the Telegraph he had written a book with Cracknell about the South Pole trip, which he will launch at the Cheltenham Literary Festival in June.

'It is an engagement I am determined to keep, come what may.'

Friday 27 March 2009

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I wish Ben very good luck with his treatment. I enjoy his programmes very much and the enthusiasm he has for nature.
Good luck Ben !!
Comment by mary on April 30 19:19

I am really sad that this terrible illness has returned. I wish Ben a complete and speedy recovery. I really enjoyed watching Extreme Dreams - it was so amazing to see ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Good Luck Ben x
Comment by Allison Abbott on May 04 19:37

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