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Leander Paes diagnosed with parasitic infection
Tuesday, 26 August 2003, 19:30 IST
WASHINGTON: Tennis champion Leander Paes is suffering from a parasitic infection that originates from pork, his family has said.
Paes has been receiving treatment at Orlando Regional Medical Centre for the past week. Blood tests have confirmed neurocysticercosis, a parasitic infection that attacks the central nervous system, his family said in a statement.
Neurocysticercosis is caused by larval forms of a pork tapeworm that invade tissue. The disease is more common in India than the U.S. It was not immediately known how long the 30-year-old Paes will be out of action.
Paes was admitted into the M.D. Anderson Cancer Centre last week. A brain scan revealed a small lesion and doctors had initially feared it might be a cancerous tumour.
The tennis player, who makes an off-season home in Orlando, underwent a series of tests. Numerous magnetic resonance imaging tests and blood test results from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the diagnosis.
Doctor Clarence Brown said last week that if Paes was suffering from an infection, he could return to the tennis court in just a couple of weeks.
He was originally scheduled to play in the U.S. Open, which began Monday, with Martina Navratilova in New York.
Navratilova said in a statement last week that she would not compete until Paes was healthy because "he is a true partner, and the special connection we share cannot be replaced. Our bond was much more than winning titles, and my thoughts are with this wonderful man for a speedy and full recovery".
The treatment protocol is being decided by the specialists and will include a combination of anti-parasitic medication, steroids and anti-seizure medication.
Paes is a sports icon in India, and the hospital has been inundated with phone calls and inquiries. The family said that Paes heard from everyone from the president of India to the nuns at Mother Teresa's home.
Paes' family and friends, including long time doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi, milled through the hospital hallways.
"Leander is deeply touched by the overwhelming support he continues to receive from around the globe," the family statement said.
While awaiting test results in the hospital, Paes, a native of Kolkata, tried to laugh and joked with the doctors and nurses. He even practiced yoga when hospital staff wasn't poking and prodding.
Reports from Orlando Sentinel, Florida, said the telephones at Orlando Regional Medical Centre have been ringing at all hours, the calls originating from all over the world.
On the Internet, message boards had hundreds of short notes and prayers. Fans chatted online about their own theories (how Indians are prone to certain conditions or how Paes' fondness for sausage is to blame).
"I have been numb from the news," R. Jayakrishnan said in his website about Paes' hospital seclusion. Jayakrishnan is an associate professor of engineering at the University of California-Irvine. He runs a fan club and website for Paes.
He has been one of many calling and e-mailing the hospital looking for any bit of hope.
Fans said they knew something was wrong when Paes withdrew from an ATP tournament last week in Long Island, New York, complaining of headaches and flu-like symptoms.
Source: IANS
Source: IANS
