Wednesdays 10:00PM ET
Djibouti
Most people who come to Djibouti are just passing through, shuttling cargo, refueling fleets or engaging in top-secret anti-terrorism surveillance missions. The country hasn’t quite cracked Travel & Leisure’s Best Of list, nor does it seem to have any off-the-radar adventure travel cachet, but if you’re wanderlusting for Djibouti, then there are a few rare and grotesque hazards you should be attuned to.
Tingle, tingle little worm. Beyond the standard malaria, hepatitis and typical food and waterborne diseases, Djibouti offers bilharzias. Bilharzias is a disease carried in freshwater by tiny worms that enter through the skin and then attach themselves to the intestines or bladder. The first symptom may be tingling and sometimes a light rash around the area where the worm entered. Or, just to make it even more interesting, you may have no symptoms. When the disease fully flourishes, you should have severe abdominal pain and blood in your urine. If left untreated, the infection causes permanent damage to internal organs. Soooo, freshwater swimming may not be the best idea, but if you laugh in the face of bilharzias, make sure you towel off thoroughly and remove your wet clothes as soon as possible.