Bali Indonesia: Horror as Brit's holiday mosquito bite turns out to be deadly brain swelling disease - what is encephalitis and its symptoms

He thought it was dengue fever, a tropical disease spread by infected mosquitoes, and so the business supplier rested in the hope he would soon recover. But three days after falling ill, Andrew's friend Zeke Scott was horrified to discover he had suffered multiple seizures.

Andrew was rushed to hospital where doctors ran a series of tests. While tests for dengue fever were negative, medics gave Andrew a "devastating" diagnosis of pneumonia and viral encephalitis, which causes swelling in the brain.

Zeke, 40, said Andrew is in a "blank state" and apart from briefly recognising his mum a fortnight ago, he's still unaware of who anyone is. Andrew's health insurance had expired just a week before the seizures and Zeke said he was due to renew it once he started a new job in February.

The family is now fundraising £50,000 to cover the cost of his treatment and fly Andrew home to Buxton, Derbyshire. The page reads: “As luck would have it, this occurred just a couple of days after Andrew’s existing medical insurance expired and prior to him obtaining his new medical insurance.

“Your generous donation will help with the overwhelming hospital costs and to allow his family to focus on travelling to be by his side as we navigate this difficult situation. We will update this site as more details are available.

“Andrew is beloved by many and is larger than life. He's also extremely proud and modest; while he'll be eternally grateful for all of your love and support, we suspect he'll also be overwhelmingly humbled.”

What is Encephalitis?

Encephalitis is an uncommon but serious condition in which the brain becomes inflamed. It can be life threatening and requires urgent treatment in hospital.

Encephalitis usually starts off with flu-like symptoms, such as a high temperature and headache. More serious symptoms come on over hours, days or weeks, including:

• Confusion or disorientation
• Seizures or fits
• Changes in personality and behaviour
• Difficulty speaking
• Weakness or loss of movement in some parts of the body
• Loss of consciousness