Indian actor and theatre director Saba Azad recently went through 14 days of personal turmoil. After spending half a month in the hospital, she shared her journey on social media in a lengthy note, calling the weeks the ‘worst 14 days’ of her life.
The actor contracted Cyclospora cayetanensis, a human-specific parasite that typically attacks the small intestine of an individual, as a result of which she was hospitalised. Azad explained how it led to sudden weight loss and how she could barely walk.
‘This bug came out of nowhere’
Calling the parasite ‘a nasty piece of work’, Saba Azad, also Hrithik Roshan‘s partner, was shocked that her healthy lifestyle still ended up attracting a parasite, usually present in contaminated consumables.
She wrote, “For someone who only ever eats home food, carries her water bottle everywhere, this bug came outta nowhere.” As a result, she shared that over the past 14 days, she had lost 4 kgs.
Saba shared, “I’ve lost 4 kgs that I didn’t have spare in two weeks, and I can barely walk. One day I’m training twice a day, doing pull-ups, lifting heavy, and the next I’m half my size, without the strength to lift a goddamn toothpick, let alone weights[sic].”
In the end, she urged her readers to wash their raw vegetables and salad leaves before consuming them. “For the love of your gut, wash your salad leaves and veg like your life depends on it – cause sometimes it really does,” Saba urged.
In the end, she thanked her partner, Hrithik Roshan, for keeping her ‘grumpy spirits up’ and described him as someone who “always manages to find humour in the darndest situations.”
What is Cyclospora cayetanensis?
According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine, titled ‘Cyclospora cayetanensis: A Perspective (2020–2023) with Emphasis on Epidemiology and Detection Methods‘, the parasite is called a ‘major public health and food safety concern.’ While it does not cause an immediate infection, it spreads largely through the oral route by consuming contaminated food or water.
Once inside the human body, it attains the appropriate humid condition to reproduce, and it can potentially damage the inner lining of the small intestine, which is largely responsible for the absorption of nutrients inside the human body.
Some early signs, according to the 2023 study, include diarrhoea, anorexia, nausea, fever, fatigue, dramatic weight loss, abdominal cramps, and bloating. Such symptoms can last 10-57 days if untreated.
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