Tourist, 24, paralysed from neck down after mosquito bite as family issues plea

The family of a man who was left paralysed from the neck down by a mosquito bite are asking for help to pay for a new electric wheelchair. John Barber, a University of Edinburgh graduate and then communications officer, was travelling in Thailand and Laos with a friend in 2015 when he was bitten by a mosquito just 12 days before he was set to fly to Australia.

John, now 31, had travelled by bike from Laos to Chiang Mai. After one day in the northern Thai city he fell ill with headaches, which only continued to worsen.

The next morning, his state had deteriorated significantly and he was taken to hospital by the manager of the hostel where he was staying. Upon his admission, John’s parents in Glossop received the call that the then 24-year-old had fallen ill with what they believed to be some form of infection, which his mum Kathy Miller says was “killing his brain”.

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