Brazil Travel Guide

Brazil is beautiful, exotic and jam-packed with a host of potentially deadly biters, suckers, invaders and downright nasties. From fire ants and invisible worms to vampire bats and the legendary candiru fish, Dr. Mike puts his body on the line to see what makes humans so attractive to these hungry critters. From the back streets of Rio de Janeiro to the forests of the mighty Amazon River, Dr. Mike learns how the tiniest animals can deliver the deadliest punch.

Rio de Janeiro: In beautiful Rio, Mike gets up-close and personal with the unforgiving fire ant and realizes to his horror that he is one of those rare cases who has a life-threatening reaction to the bite.
LOCATION: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Favelea da Rocinha: While visiting a favela, Mike encounters the infamous Brazilian wandering spider; a bite from this beauty can leave men with an embarrassing side effect.
LOCATION: Favela Da Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Meeting of the Waters: Mike takes a refreshing dip in the Amazon but finds that this could be deadly -- tiny parasitic worms can penetrate your skin, laying their eggs inside your body and causing the potentially fatal illness called schistosomiasis.
LOCATION: Meeting of the Waters -- Rio Solimões and Rio Negro, Brazil

Amazon Rainforest: Mike journeys deep into the Amazon rainforest and samples indigenous healing methods when he visits a forest doctor who runs a pharmacy and surgery deep in the rainforest. There he fortifies himself with a secret concoction to ward against malaria and stomach problems.
LOCATION: Deep in the Amazon rainforest

Other Points of Interest --
Sugarloaf Mountain: Pão de Açúcar is a peak situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Christ the Redeemer: O Cristo Redentor is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Manaus City Centre: Manaus is situated at the confluence of the Negro and Solimões rivers in Brazil.

India Travel Guide

Home to over a billion people, there's a lot to watch out for if you want to keep your cool in India. Join Virologist Dr. Mike Leahy as he travels from the chaotic metropolis of Mumbai to Varanasi -- India's spiritual and cultural heart. With so many people living in such close quarters, India is also home to a vast population of nasty bugs keen to invade or attack the unwary … and the overly inquisitive.

Juhu Beach: Dr. Mike is in the bustling commercial city of Mumbai where he has arrived in time for the end of monsoon celebrations at Juhu Beach -- a colorful gathering of devotees and an ideal environment for the skin-munching scabies mite.
LOCATION: Situated on the shores of the Arabian Sea, Juhu Beach is the most famous beach in Mumbai.

Charak Health Center: Even intrepid virologists need some pampering, so Mike agrees to indulge in what he thinks will be a relaxing therapeutic treatment. Instead he's faced with half a dozen ravenous leeches that quickly get to work on his back, leaving a bloody trail in their wake. Leech therapy is believed to boost the immune system and, true to form, Mike's keen to give anything a try.
LOCATION: Charak Health Center, 1/8 Motilal Nagar No. 3, Goregaon-West, Mumbai–400 062

River Ganges, Varanasi: This sacred river serves as a ritual bathing place, a laundry, bathroom and sewer. Despite the health hazards, thousands of people take their daily ablutions in the Ganges, believing it will cleanse their bodies and souls. Dr. Mike tempts fate by taking a dip in this revered but highly polluted river.
LOCATION: The Ganges is one of India's major rivers, flowing east through the Gangetic Plain of Northern India into Bangladesh.

Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple: Dr. Mike visits this sacred temple, dedicated to the monkey god, Hanuman. Unwittingly he finds himself in the middle of a territorial spat between two macaque monkeys and is bitten by a cranky macaque.
LOCATION: Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple is one of the sacred temples of Hindu god Hanuman, in the city of Varanasi

OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST
The Gateway of India is a monument in Mumbai. Located on the waterfront in Apollo Bunder area in South Mumbai, the Gateway is a basalt arch 85 ft. high. In earlier times, the Gateway was the monument that visitors arriving by boat would have first seen in the city of Bombay.

Crawford Market (officially Sanket Phule) is one of South Mumbai's most famous markets. The market is situated opposite the Mumbai Police headquarters, just north of Victoria Terminus railway station and west of the J.J.flyover at a busy intersection.

Banaras Hindu University is a very green and peaceful campus. Few actually know that this university was built during India's freedom struggle and is known as the Oxford of the East.

Vietnam Travel Guide

In the heart of Southeast Asia, Vietnam is home to 90 million people, 10 million scooters and countless bugs and parasites. For audacious virologist Dr. Mike Leahy, it’s a tempting destination, providing plenty of opportunities to indulge his passion for lethal critters.

It’s here that Dr. Mike learns the hard way that there is a price to pay for his inquisitive nature and injures his pride as he negotiates the packed city streets.

Cuc Phuong National Park: Dr. Mike visits peaceful Cuc Phuong National Park and finds what appears to be a postcard-perfect lotus pond, but it harbors a dark secret. Underneath the peaceful surface lies a tough little parasite known as Cryptosporidium, which can cause cramps, vomiting and diarrhea -- definitely not high on the list of souvenirs for most travellers.
LOCATION: Cuc Phuong National Park, is located in Ninh Binh Province, in Vietnam’s Red River Delta.

Barber shop: With a curiously itchy head, Mike visits a local barber shop to cut down the potential louse habitat on his cranium.

Cu Chi Tunnels: In the notorious Cu Chi Tunnels, an immense underground network used by Vietnamese soldiers in the wars of the 1960s and '70s, Mike uses a special UV light to find a deadly Asian Forest Scorpion.
LOCATION: The tunnels of Củ Chi are located in the Cu Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Rice Paddy Field: Mike takes a stroll through a paddy field accompanied by a stubborn water buffalo to learn how a water-based disease continues to affect Vietnam War veterans decades after they first came into contact with the bacteria.

OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST
Ben Thanh Market is a big marketplace in the downtown area of Ho Chi Minh City. The market is one of the oldest structures in Saigon and today is considered one of the symbols of Ho Chi Minh City, popular with tourists seeking local handicrafts, textiles, and souvenirs, as well as local cuisine.

Hanoi Opera House is an opera house in downtown Hanoi, Vietnam. It was erected by French colonists between 1901 and 1911.

The Old Quarter, near Hoan Kiem Lake, has the original street layout and architecture of old Hanoi. The area is famous for its local artisans and merchants, including many silk shops. Culinary specialties as well as several clubs and bars can be found here also. A night market (near Đồng Xuân market) in the heart of the district opens for business every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening with a variety of clothing, souvenirs and food.

Outback Travel Guide

Australia's Outback is a land of extremes –- soaring temperatures, vast landscapes and some of the most deadly creatures in the world -- an ideal holiday destination for globe-trotting virologist Dr. Mike Leahy. Never content to simply read about his specialist topic, Mike prefers to learn first-hand how the most minute of Earth's creatures can create major headaches for unsuspecting travelers. From an 8-legged murderess to a parasite that turns man's best friend into a killer, if the heat doesn't get you, it's quite possible the wildlife will.

Shearing Shed, Farm Station
In Australia, extreme heat and hazards come with the territory for Aussie farmers. Down in the shearing shed Mike tries his hand at shearing a sheep and finds out why it's a job best left to the professionals. The money and beer might be OK but the risk of catching scabby mouth is enough for Mike to stick with his day job.

Wool Shed, Farm Station
Despite the harshness of the environment, hardy humans have farmed this land for hundreds of years on vast ranches known as stations. Farming this amount of land would be impossible without the working dog but even the faithful collie can harbor a parasite capable of turning it into a rabid killer. Adult Hydatids tape worms move with ruthless efficiency through the food chain, and if their final destination is a human host, the effects can be deadly.

Alice Springs Desert
Dr. Mike heads to Alice Springs, a thriving Outback town in the heart of the red zone, where he's keen to find a bizarre-looking lizard the locals consider prime bush tucker. With razor sharp claws and teeth, the Perentie is Australia's biggest lizard and comes fully equipped with an impressive array of defense mechanisms.

Aussie Backyard
Dr. Mike decides to seek out some of Australia's more common yet equally dangerous inhabitants. From bedbugs that inject their unsuspecting bed pals with saliva full of chemicals capable of stopping blood from clotting to a female spider who eats her male partner after sex and whose bite can kill the very young or old or anyone without an anti-venom kit handy, Mike learns that it pays to check before you sit or lie down here.

OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST
Uluru, also referred to as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory. It lies 335 km (208 mi) southwest of the nearest large town, Alice Springs -- 450 km (280 mi) by road.

Alice Springs Reptile Centre is a privately operated reptile centre and environmental education facility in Alice Springs. It has the largest collection of reptiles in the Northern Territory. Animals at the centre include the Perentie Goanna, Frill-necked Lizards, Thorny Devils, large and small pythons and venomous snakes including Inland Taipans, Brown Snakes, Death Adders and Mulga Snakes. The centre is a popular tourist destination, particularly for children.

Alice Springs Desert Park is an environmental education facility in Alice Springs. It is sited on 1300 haectares of land, with a core area of 52 hectares. It contains native animals and plants representative of central Australian desert environments and contributes to their conservation through research programs as well as through public education.

Borneo Travel Guide

Dominated by mountains and lush rain forest, hot and humid Sabah in the Malaysian region of Borneo is the perfect home for a staggering variety of killer beasties and deadly plant life. From a cute-looking mammal that can kill with its armpit sweat to a magnificent mountainside plant that will swallow and digest just about anything, in Borneo, looks are more than deceiving -- for the uninformed, they can be deadly.

Borneo Rain Forest
First up is the challenging task of capturing a water monitor -- a powerful lizard that's known to be venomous. Not surprisingly, the aggressive reptile puts up a fight, and Mike doesn't want to raise the beast's stress levels any further.

Gomantong Caves
This 65-million-year-old cave system is home to a million bats and a 100-foot-tall pile of bat poo, known as guano, that contains a lethal concoction of bugs and parasites. Mike conquers the massive mountain of excrement to marvel at the notoriously hardy cockroaches that thrive there. He wisely opts to wear a face mask for his visit; if he breathes spores from fungi called histoplasma, he knows he could end up with anything from mild flu-like condition to full blown heart failure.
LOCATION: The Gomantong Caves are an intricate cave system inside Gomantong Hill in the Lower Kinabatangan area, Sandakan division, in the Malaysian state of Sabah.

Mengkabong Water Village
Dr. Mike cruises the waterways on the hunt for cannibalistic mud crabs and the odd-looking Hauran fish. Part snake, part fish this carnivorous species has a host of medicinal uses from helping blood clot to acting as a painkiller and reducing swelling caused by osteoarthritis.
LOCATION: Mengkabong Water Village is a traditional Malay fishing village where houses are built on stilts and connected by narrow wooden planks that rise out of the river; it is a 40 minute drive from Kota Kinabalu.

Mount Kota Kinabalu
At over 4,000 meters, or around 13,000 feet, it's home to a scary-looking plant with a cunning feeding system. The giant pitcher plant might be beautiful but it has a seriously sinister side. What looks like a pool of water within the plant is actually full of digestive enzymes and acids. With its digestive system on the outside, this pretty plant is a death trap for insects and even small mammals.
LOCATION: Mount Kinabalu is a prominent mountain in Southeast Asia. It is located in Kinabalu National Park (a World Heritage Site) in the east Malaysian state of Sabah, which is on the island of Borneo. It's the tallest mountain in the Malay Archipelago.


OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST
Poring Hot Springs
Poring is a small tourist resort in Sabah, Malaysia. Located 40 km southeast of the Kinabalu National Park Headquarters, in the district of Ranau. The town is home to the Poring Hot Springs, a popular recreation and tourist complex. The springs are known for their therapeutic properties, and the waters, with their sulfuric minerals, are reputed to ease aching muscles.

Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary
The Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre was set up in 1964 to rehabilitate orphaned baby orangutan. Set in the lush 4,300-hectare Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve, the center under the administration of the Wildlife Department of Sabah attracts tourists and researchers alike, giving them the opportunity to watch the orangutan up-close in their natural habitat.

Gaya Street (Sunday Market)
Originally named Bond Street, Gaya Street, located in the Kota Kinabalu Central Business District, has been the center of business for over 100 years. Every Sunday morning, the length of Gaya Street is closed off to traffic to make way for the Fair. Shop for anything under shady trees and over-sized umbrellas, like batik sarongs, fruits and flowers, arts and crafts, footwear, antiques and souvenirs, cakes, even pets and herbs. This is the best place to experience the cross-section of the local population.

Borneo

Traveling to Borneo? Find out what you're in for first.

What Dr. Mike encounters in Borneo:

Water Monitor
With local help, Mike hunts down a large and well-armed water monitor in the forest -- it's recently been discovered that its bite is venomous.

Weaver Ants
Mike marvels at the architectural excellence and building skills of weaver ants, only to discover (along with the film crew) that they have painfully effective ways of defending their territory.

Rattan/Tetanus
Exposing himself to open wounds by struggling through the rainforest undergrowth, Mike is advised to have a tetanus jab to ward off a condition that could leave him paralyzed and unable to breathe.

Monkey Malaria
Mike meets a bunch of bizarre-looking proboscis monkeys whose large noses help attract females. They're increasingly feared for passing on a devastating new strain of malaria to humans via the mosquitoes that feed on them.

Tiger Leech
Dr. Mike is ambushed by a group of very tenacious leeches.

Guano/Cockroach
Mike heads to the remarkable and deadly Gomantong Caves where he finds and climbs up a huge pile of guano (bat excrement) and introduces us to the cockroaches that feed off it.

Slow Loris
In the dead of night, Mike tracks down the cuddly-looking Slow Loris. But due to the fact that it's one of a tiny number of mammals with a venomous bite and has been known to kill humans, he cautions against getting too close.

Mud Crab
Mike heads out on the river to catch a mud crab and demonstrates the effectiveness of its remarkably powerful claws. He also explains how their tough shells make their sexual liaisons a long-term affair.

Hauran Fish
Mike goes net-fishing Borneo-style to catch a fish that contains an amino acid that can ease pain and help our wounds heal more quickly.

Pitcher Plant
Mike treks up Mount Kinabulu to study a remarkable plant that's evolved in its barren surroundings to digest virtually anything that comes its way –- even small mammals.

Stag Beetle
Dr. Mike chances on a stag beetle in the forest and explains how it got its name –- it has antlers to joust with.

Pit Viper
With local help, Mike tracks down a highly venomous snake that hangs off trees to catch its prey.

Sago Grub
Mike heads to market to try a local delicacy found in the highly toxic sago palm tree –- the sago grub.

Vietnam

Traveling to Vietnam? Find out what you're in for first.

What Dr. Mike encounters in Vietnam:

Beef Tapeworm
Dr. Mike buys some beef in a local market and finds a tape worm cyst in it. As he eats it, he describes the monster it can grow into over 20 years in our guts.

Cryptosporidium
Dr. Mike gets bogged down and stinky in a lotus flower pond and tells us about the stomach-churning Crypto parasite that could be lurking in the water around him.

Blood Soup
Dr. Mike goes undercover to find a soup made from duck blood and baby urine, once drank to commemorate the dead. Following a major outbreak of Bird Flu, it's now banned but some still sell it. Mike has a taste.

Rat Fleas
On Metal Street, Dr. Mike buys a rat trap, a doughnut, and then hides down an alley and catches a rat. He digs out a killer flea from its fur to explain that the plague that many think of as a medieval disease is still very much with us.

Head Lice
Follicley challenged Dr. Mike uses his first outdoor haircut in the streets of Hanoi to introduce us to the lice crawling around his scalp.

Asian Liver Fluke
Dr. Mike pits himself against the locals with his fishing rod. He eventually catches a fish that could be carrying a parasite that can cause liver cancer if the fish isn't cooked properly.

Scorpion
Dr. Mike goes down into the notorious Cu Chi Tunnels used by Vietnamese soldiers in the 1960s and '70s and uses a special UV light to find a deadly Asian Forest Scorpion whose bite more than compensates for its diminutive size

Centipede
Dr. Mike tries to keep up with a very fast centipede with a phenomenally painful bite.

Rove Beetle
Dr. Mike hunts down a beetle that's causing a great deal of discomfort at a local university.

Sack Tree
Dr. Mike heads into the forest to find a tree that all the locals avoid because it can kill unwary passersby with its milky resin.

Melioidosis
Dr. Mike takes a gentle stroll with a water buffalo through a rice paddy field to tell us about a water-borne disease which even now still afflicts veterans of the Vietnam War.

Malayan Krait
With local help, Dr. Mike hunts down and holds a snake that produces venom 16 times more poisonous than a cobra's, killing up to 90% of those it bites.

Eye Lash Mite
Dr. Mike tells us about a mite that lives on our eyelashes that can cause a dandruff-like condition and in extreme cases can actually make your eyelashes fall out. The scary thing is, up to 95% of the population are infested with these mites.

India

Traveling to India? Find out what you're in for first.

What Dr. Mike encounters in India:

SCABIES
Dr. Mike joins in the end of monsoon festivities on Mumbai’s Juhu Beach and explains how close contact in crowded situations is the perfect way to catch a contagious skin condition called scabies.

Ascaris worm
Dr. Mike explains how you can catch a parasitic worm called the ascaris worm from unwashed fruit and veggies. He's even hoping he can grow some to show us later.

Leech therapy
Dr. Mike heads to a local Ayurvedic clinic for some leech therapy, which is believed to siphon out the bad blood. Doctor Sangupta attaches the leeches to Mike's back and they take their bloody meal.

Sacred Cows and Tuberculosis
Dr. Mike explains that in the Hindu religion, cows are sacred so they wander freely. But these bovines can carry a disease that's killing millions of people –- tuberculosis.

Macaque Monkeys and Herpes B Virus
Dr. Mike visits the Sankat Mochan temple, which is dedicated to the monkey god, Hanuman. He meets the macaque monkeys that live there and describes the deadly Herpes B Virus that humans can catch from them.

Whip scorpion
Dr. Mike heads off the beaten track in search of the whip scorpion. He finds one on a log, picks it up and explains its defense mechanism.

Bombadier Beetle
Dr. Mike moves on and finds the bombardier beetle. He explains how this bug mixes chemicals in its butt to cause an explosion.

Elephant Anthrax
Dr. Mike hitches a ride back to town on an elephant. As he rides along he explains how this friendly giant can carry anthrax and how this lethal bacteria can infect humans.

Sandfly/Leishmaniasis
On the banks of the River Ganges, Dr. Mike is bugged by sandflies; while swatting them away he explains the terrible disease humans can catch from these parasites called leishmaniasis.

Giardia Lab
Dr. Mike has an upset stomach, and he thinks it might have something to do with the mouthful of water he took from the Ganges, so he goes to a clinic to get his stool tested. Professor Mohapatra takes a look under the microscope and tells Mike that he has a Giardia infection.

Body Lice
Dr. Mike takes a ride on some local transport -- a huge trailer -- along with loads of others. He explains that this is the perfect way to catch an unwanted hitchhiker -– body lice.

Ascaris Roundworm
Dr. Mike takes a worming treatment to rid his body of anything that might have grown from the unwashed fruit and veggies he ate in Mumbai. His body reacts, and he has to make an emergency stop where he discovers some ascaris worms have been residing in his body.

Brazil

Traveling to Brazil? Find out what you're in for first.

What Dr. Mike encounters in Brazil:

Fire Ants
Mike gets up-close and personal with the Brazilian fire ant and ends up in the Emergency Room.

Dengue Fever
Mike shatters illusions about the mosquito and discusses a deadly disease.

Favella Rocinha
Mike visits this self-contained community that has grown up organically with no central government and no local authorities, driven by the power of the people.

Wandering Spider
Dr. Mike visits a favela, or shantytown, on the edge of Rio de Janeiro and encounters a spider whose bite can induce one of the more embarrassing side effects known to man -- a very painful long-lasting erection.

Meeting of the Waters
Dr. Mike visits one of the natural wonders of the world, the place where two separate rivers combine, but don't mix, to form the great Amazon River.

Schistosome
Mike jumps into the Amazon River and explores the habitat of the schistosome, a tiny worm that infects 200 million people worldwide with schistosomiasis.

Bullet Ant
Mike is bitten by a bullet ant, which is reputed to have the most painful bite of any invertebrate in the world.

Jungle Doctor
Mike meets Mrs. Bacu, a jungle doctor who whips ups some potions and lotions to help Mike with a headache, protect him against malaria and potentially purge his parasites.

Piranha
Mike catches a fish with a ferocious reputation, and demonstrates how they can strip an animal to the bone in minutes. Mike puts his finger on the line to see if the killer reputation of these piranhas is really justified.

Assassin Bug and Chagas' Disease
Mike is tracked down by one of nature's most advanced hunters, which spreads an evil disease called Chagas. Mike lets the assassin bug feed on his arm to show it isn't the bite that can kill you.

Candiru Fish
Mike explains the dangers of peeing in the Amazon because of a parasitic bloodsucker the size of a matchstick and what it can do inside one's nether regions.

Vampire Bat
Mike, with the help of jungle guides, catches up with a vampire bat, famous because they feed on blood. Mike shows the beauty behind the beast before releasing it back into the wild.

Meet Dr. Mike

Mike always wanted to be a wanderer, and some would argue that in a strange way he's succeeded. He didn’t enjoy being "held captive" at school, and escaped early to work as a mechanic for 10 years until he could keep still long enough to sit through lectures and attend university. Ultimately he was awarded a doctorate in virology and molecular biology by Oxford University.

Since his first trip to Nepal in his early twenties Mike has suffered badly with the travel bug, and has wandered around most regions of the world as a rally mechanic, a research scientist and lately a TV host. His fascination with the workings of infectious microbes and parasites together with his appreciation of their impact on people around the globe fuels his enthusiasm to tell the world about the creatures that are only too happy to make the unwary human being into their home, often bringing his subject matter to life by becoming a "one-man zoo" himself.



Mike loves adventure travel, particularly on motorbikes, has a black belt in tae kwon do and when at home splits his time between enduro racing, trail riding and spending time with his wife and two little daughters.

About the Show

Virologist and adventure junkie Dr. Mike Leahy welcomes up-close-and-personal encounters with Earth's most dangerous creatures -- often tiny ones -- that can create big headaches for unsuspecting travelers. Whether they want to suck, bite, sting or feed on his body, he'll do whatever it takes to better understand what they're all about.

Dr. Mike used to be a motorcycle mechanic, but after 10 years of grease and gears he decided to go back to school. But not just any school -- Dr. Mike completed a Ph.D. in Virology from Oxford University. Dr. Mike is really interested in two things: traveling and bugs (the ones that creep around or the ones inside the human body).

Join Dr. Mike on an unforgettable journey around the world to learn more about creatures who love nothing more than to take a bite out of your vacation.

Tune in for the premiere of "Bite Me With Dr. Mike" Tuesday, June 23, at 10 E/P.