Stillers narrow escape

LONDON: Actor Ben Stiller has revealed that he could have contracted Lyme disease after he badly injured his knee during a recent trip to Mozambique.

His left knee became inflamed and he visited a number of doctors to diagnose the problem.

“I was in Africa about three and half weeks ago and I stepped in a ditch in Mozambique. It was a hidden ditch, I was in a village and it was full of muddy water and I stepped in it and hyper extended my knee,” the Daily Express quoted him as saying.

Stiller’s mystery injury was so painful it almost forced him to pull out of a scheduled interview with US TV talk show host David Letterman on March 23.

But, after more examinations and tests, Stiller’s doctors now believe he may have contracted Lyme disease, an easily treatable inflammatory illness spread through a tick bite, which is common on the East Coast of the US.

Stiller admits he’s been experiencing “little night sweats” as a result of the condition, but he is glad his medical mystery is almost solved — because it means he won’t have to undergo invasive surgery.