Be careful what you bring back home with you on your travels.
Matthew O'Donnell had the surprise of his life when a tiny lump near his right small toe suddenly burst and an African flea tumbled out with over 100 eggs. It turns out a chigoe flea decided to call his foot home for the last month, emerging only after O'Donnell landed in the UK after spending his summer in Tanzania.
He had just graduated from Plymouth University with a degree in geography and headed to Tanzania to do some volunteer work over the summer. He had received warnings about the jigger's (how the chigoe flea is known locally) burrowing habit but was unaware that he had been harboring one until the incident happened.
It was quite a shock to see the incident unfold, but he said he had an idea that it was an African flea because one of his friends had also played host to a chigoe flea while they were in Tanzania.
At just a millimeter long, the African flea is considered the smallest in existence. Because of its size, it's very difficult to spot and prevent one from burrowing into a host.
It is mostly found in tropical and sub-tropical regions, living in the sand. O'Donnell said it can easily be acquired walking around Tanzania with exposed feet, such as when one is wearing flip flops.
While both male and female chigoe fleas can live off human hosts, only the females burrow into the host's skin. Males return to the sand after feeding.
After burrowing, the females lay their eggs and leave the tip of their abdomens exposed. As they hatch, the eggs tumble out of the females' abdomens. The females also die in the process.
O'Donnell had an idea of what he was dealing with, but he was not at all expecting eggs to burst out of his foot. Once all the eggs were out, he wrapped them all up in toilet paper and quickly flushed them down. He said if the eggs were to hatch, he would rather not witness it. He also got rid of the female chigoe that used his foot as an incubator.
"It was pretty creepy. I wasn't sure whether to laugh at the situation or run into my kitchen hysterically shouting at 3am, to cut my foot off with a carving knife," O'Donnell adds.
He has since been to the doctor and has been cleared, although he has a tiny hole in his foot as a souvenir.
