New Delhi: Four years ago, Chetan Pithadia (53) got bitten by a mosquito on his leg and dismissed it as any other bite.
Soon, his left leg started to swell and he observed it was getting bigger with every passing day, despite medication.
Now, the Gujarat man is pleading for help because his leg is four times the normal size. The mosquito bite left him with elephantitis – a tropical, parasitic disease that affects the lymph nodes and lymph vessels, caused by parasitic filarial worms carried by mosquitoes.
His leg now weighs approximately 25 kg and and his foot is barely visible under the huge folds and lumps.
The former garment worker had to give up his job and is now appealing for help to raise £3,500 for treatment.
According to the Daily Mail, the father-of-two, from Jamnagar, said: 'My condition is getting worse by the day.
'It's a condition where the patient can only find relief to a certain extent.
'I have recently discovered a probable cure at a hospital in Kerala.
'But the process requires admitting me to hospital for a month three times, and I will need medicines for around two years.'
Initially, Chetan believed that the swelling was temporary. He travelled almost 1,000 kms to the Municipal Hospital in Mumbai, where doctors prescribed him tablets, which provided no relief.
Later, a doctor in his hometown diagnosed him with lymphatic filariasis – known as elephant leg disease, the Daily Mail reported.
If the swelling spreads from the legs to the abdomen, the condition can be fatal.
It is estimated that elephantitis affects around 120 million people worldwide.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), avoiding mosquito bites through personal protection measures or community-level vector control is the best way to prevent lymphatic filariasis.
Periodic examination of blood for infection and initiation of recommended treatment are also likely to prevent clinical manifestations.
