Ben Fogle has spoken for the first time about the flesh-eating bug he contracted in Peru, and how he feared he would be left mutilated. Talking to the Guardian, Ben says, "When you go into the jungle, the two things people joke about are the willy fish – the little fish that swim up your urine and put the little spikes out. Everyone talks about them, but no one's ever had them, you know? And the other one is this skin-eating disease..." Remembering the moment he was diagnosed, Ben says, "The doctor told me, 'Unfortunately, the worst news is that it's the worst strain of leishmaniasis. It affects the face. It will go straight to the nose and the lips and could lead to facial mutilation'." Ben was then put on a course of "poison" to kill off the bug, which left him vomiting, in constant agony and, after three weeks, with a bout of pneumonia. The former reality TV star battled through, however, and went off to the South Pole just five days after completing his treatment. Luckily the disease never did reach that pretty face of his, but Ben says the entire process was "hideous". Poor poor thing.
Ben discusses killer bug
