Flesh-eating worms attack couple's feet during romantic beach stroll in the Dominican Republic

Katie Stephens and her boyfriend got the flesh-eating disease on holiday in Punta Cana
Katie Stephens
Eleanor Rose30 January 2018

A couple have been left on crutches with disfigured feet after flesh-eating worms burrowed into their skin during a romantic walk on the beach.

Katie Stephens, 22, from Windsor, Ontario in Canada, posted pictures to Facebook of her feet and those of her boyfriend Eddie Zytner, 25, swollen and misshapen after bugs ate into their skin.

Ms Stephens warned of the dangers of walking barefoot on the beach after contracting larva migrans their holiday in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

"To anybody travelling somewhere tropical, please be careful when in the sand and wear shoes!" she wrote.

Their feet were left misshapen after the flesh-eating bugs struck
Katie Stephens

The couple walked shoeless on the beaches near the resort of IFA Villas Bavaro All-Inclusive Resort and Spa on Playa Bavaro, where they stayed.

Their feet began to itch a little during the trip but it wasn't until their return on January 18 that their feet began erupting into weeping blisters and angry red weals that left them unable to put on shoes.

Ms Stephens advised other travellers on Facebook: "If your feet become incredibly itchy please get it checked out right away since we simply thought it was just bug bites and it became worse as each day passed."

Larva mirgans is caused by the larvae of a type of hookworm that usually lives in the intestines of cats, dogs and wild animals.

Eggs are shed in animal faeces and develop over one or two weeks in beach sand or soil. The larvae then become infectious and can burrow into intact skin that comes into contact with the sand.

To make matters worse for Ms Stephens and her boyfriend, the topical creams used to treat larva migrans are restricted in Canada and only approved in the most serious cases.

They had to obtain the drug from the US and their feet are now slowly recovering.

In animals, the worms can burrow much deeper, eating into the lungs and intestines, but in humans they usually cannot advance past the skin.

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