British woman struck down with deadly disease after mistaking symptoms for a bad hangover
lysha Pyrgotis, 27, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, was left vomiting and suffering 'extreme diarrhoea' after catching typhoid fever on the remote Indonesian party island of Gili Trawangan in June this year.
She had initially thought her symptoms of the bacterial infection, which can kill one in five of those infected if they don't seek treatment, was a result of having one too many drinks the night before.
But when physically unable to get out of bed due to feelings of being 'delirious' combined with deep muscle and bone pain, Ms Pyrgotis knew she was in a lot more bother than first assumed.
She said: 'I couldn't concentrate at all, that's when I started to panic. The guy I was travelling with at the time started to realise I was quite poorly, I wasn't hungover.
'He spoke to the person at the hostel and we had a look online, there weren't any hospitals. I was on a very small island, there wasn't really healthcare, it was really unlucky that I was there at the time.
'It was just like my body didn't want anything inside it, it was trying to get rid of everything. I didn't eat anything for the whole time I was really ill.
'Even water, I would sip water and it would come straight back up. It was a very, very extreme sickness.'
Fortunately, Ms Gyrotis managed to seek the help of a local doctor who confirmed her positive test for the disease - meaning it was caught before the symptoms worsened to the point of being fatal.
But that was little consolation at the time for the 27-year-old, who said the extremity of the sickness left her feeling like it could kill her.
She added: 'I thought I was going to die, to be honest. It was that bad, I literally thought "this is it".
'I was really worried about telling my family - I didn't tell them until after I'd been poorly because they were having a lot of stress at work at the time.
'I thought it was not going to end well for me. I was panicking as I knew I had to leave the country soon. I was really, really scared.'
The backpacker, who had spent time in south Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and the Philippines before heading to Indonesia, then spent her final days abroad in a small, cramped medical shack hooked up to an IV drip.
Despite still feeling 'very sick', Ms Gyrotis received a negative typhoid test and promptly had to get on a 'horrific' flight to Bangkok due to her visa approaching its expiry date.
She said the lasting effects of the disease took a few weeks to get out of her system, and has now called on holidaymakers to take care where she admitted she may not have.
Ms Gyrotis continued: 'I'm not going to say "nobody pet the stray animals" because that's one of my favourite parts of travelling, but I think washing your hands is really important afterwards, because that's something I really didn't do.
'I was in the middle of nowhere petting stray animals and then going about my day for hours without access to water to wash my hands with. I didn't bring any sanitiser either.
'I think general handwashing and being careful with what you eat out there. A lot of street food you eat isn't kept in clean conditions, it's in a hot country on the street.
'Chicken is sat out for hours and the cleaning utensils are probably not cleaned to the standard you would in the west.
'I just wasn't careful where I ordered my food from. I was just eating everything that looked good and smelled good at the time - and that's probably not the wisest thing to do.'
What is typhoid fever?
According to the NHS, typhoid fever is spread through unclean food or water, with symptoms including high temperature, headaches, coughing, chills, aches, pains, feeling tired, constipation, and a lack of hunger
Those travelling in areas where there is a risk of catching it are advised by the health agency to get a vaccination against the illness
Treatment for those who catch it is through antibiotics
People who recover from the disease can become carriers who can still spread it for months or even years after
The NHS say regularly washing your hands with soap and warm water or sanitiser gel, as well as using bottled or boiled water and eating thoroughly cooked foods, can help to prevent catching or spreading the infection
The health agency say to avoid having ice in drinks, or eating raw or lightly cooked meat or seafood and unwashed salad
Dairy products made from unpasteurised milk and food that has been left uncovered can also pose a risk
Vaccines are recommended for anyone age over one year old when travelling to an area where there is a high risk of catching the disease
Travellers should try to see a GP six to eight weeks before travelling
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