Oct 27 2003
By John Kelly
PRINCE William was taken to hospital after being struck down by the tropical disease bilharzia.
Bodyguards accompanied Wills, 21, a student at St Andrews University, to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee on Friday night after he said he felt unwell.
He is thought to have a low level of the condition but was immediately prescribed tablets of the drug Praziquantel, which has a 90 per cent success rate, our sister paper the Daily Record reveals today.
Wills caught the disease - which infects around 200million people a year and kills 20,000 - on his month long safari in Africa, where it is common among travellers.
Symptons include fever, headache, cough and diarrhoea. Other physical signs include a tender, enlarged liver and spleen.
It is a parasitic infection caused by a type of worm that lives in rivers or streams and is often caught by swimming.
ILL: William caught disease in Africa
William went whitewater rafting on the Nile and spent three days at Bujagali Falls in Uganda.
But royal insiders stressed last night that he is not in danger.
Buckingham Palace said he had blood tests after coming back from his trip in August.
A spokeswoman said: "When William was in Africa he picked up bilharzia.
"He returned from Africa and was feeling unwell. He went for a blood test and the specialists say he had bilharzia.
"Prince William has a very low level of the disease and all he has to do is take the tablets and everything will be fine. It was a routine appointment and he got everything dealt with."
William was joined in Africa by 11 friends, including former Guards officer Mark Dyer, and Scotland Yard protection officers.
The spokeswoman added: "Everybody who went on the trip with him will also be checked for the disease because it is very common in that part of Africa."
William has spent several holidays on the sprawling 45,000 acre nature reserve in the foothills of Mount Kenya run by close family friends Jane and Ian Craig.
William has told his father and the Queen that the Bujagali Falls - where he is believed to have picked up the disease - are among the safest in the world for whitewater rafting.
He loves Africa so much he has told Prince Charles he wants to live there for two years when he graduates.
He recently said he has been trying to learn Swahili in his spare time.