Mystery Bug Attacks Australian's Legs On Beach

A mystery flesh eating bug has attacked a teenage boy as he paddled on a beach in Australia.

Sam Kanizay, 16, was playing football with his friends on Brighton Beach in Melbourne, when he decided to have a paddle in the shallow waters to cool down. As he did so, he felt a tingling in his ankles but put it down to the fact that he had been playing football in the hot sun.

But when he stepped out of the water and wiped away what he thought was sand, he discovered his feet and ankles were perforated, with blood oozing from the small holes.

Sam was taken to hospital, where doctors were baffled by his injuries. Their guess was that sea lice were responsible.

The boy's father, Jarrod, went back to the beach and collected hundreds of the tiny sea lice. He said that he took the lice and placed them in a container with some meat, which they swiftly devoured.

Sea louse, or sea lice in their plural form are small mites that that feed on the mucus, epidermal tissue, and blood of host marine fish. It is likely that they latched on to Sam to feed on his blood, as opposed to eating his flesh.

Adult females are aggressive feeders and have been known to besiege fish farms, causing severe damage to fish stocks, such as salmon.

It would appear that the sea louse is guilty in this case.

Source: Metro UK Content: TPVS