Summary

About a month after Preston returned from his expedition, he developed stiffness in his legs and a fever, but, after being treated in Paris, he recovered. One bite on his upper arm did not go away, however, and he developed mouth sores and another fever and sought treatment in Santa Fe. He contacted Steve Elkins, who told him Dave Yoder and Chris Fisher and similar bites that would not go away. Preston exchanged pictures of the bites with Dave, who thought he might have a disease called leishmaniasis, the second most common parasitic disease in the world after malaria. It is a neglected tropical disease (NTD), however, because it mostly affects the poor. Dave was finally diagnosed with leish, as Preston calls it, in Rome, and Dave went to the U.S. for treatment.

This caused panic among the members of the...