Gujarat man left with 25 kg leg due to mosquito bite begs for help

A mosquito bite may not seem like a big deal but sometimes this simple bite can lead to grave consequences. How taking things lightly can leave people with life altering deformities is something that has been observed in several cases recently.

A 53-year-old from Gujarat has been forced to beg for help out of desperation as a disorder has caused his leg to swell four times its size. It all begin with a mosquito bite that gave him elephantitis and his leg kept growing in size as it now weighs around 25 kg.

His foot is barely visible since it’s covered by folds and lumps due to the disorder caused by parasitic filarial worms that mosquitoes are known to carry. The disease forced Chetan Pithadia to give up work and now he is appealing for help to raise money required for his treatment.

At first he thought that the swelling was temporary and travelled to a hospital in Mumbai where doctors gave him medicines which were not effective. He was later diagnosed for lymphatic filariasis by a doctor in Jamnagar.

Chetan’s condition is getting worse every day and while patients can only get relief to a certain extent, he has found hope for a cure in Kerala. The condition can prove to be fatal if the swelling spreads to the abdominal region.