A British man, David Worsley, reportedly caught a rare strain of salmonella while on holiday in Tunisia resulting in his testicle swelling to ten times its normal size and ultimately rupturing. Speaking to The Sun, Worsley said, "I was told that I had a rare form of salmonella called African salmonella. After the holiday, my testicle had swollen to the size of a grapefruit and it was so heavy it was like it was made of glass."
He added, "The pain was so bad I thought I was going to die. When it finally exploded I felt fantastic. It was such a relief. The doctor said I was highly contagious and that I wasn’t allowed to sleep with my wife. I was walking around holding them all the time, it was so heavy.”
It is not clear what diagnosis he was given but it is very likely that Worsley developed epididymo-orchitis.
The Problem with Calling the Disease "African"
Indeed Worsley contracted the salmonella on vacation in Africa but it is malicious to pretend such a strain is only to be found in Africa as some media reports have done. The strain has been called a rare African strain yet in 2011, Pakistani researchers dealt with an abscess caused by salmonella. There is no suggestion this child had been in Africa. Science Direct also has a record of a then 63 year old Indian man who "complained of a 1-week history of progressive swelling of the right testicle, which was associated with localized pain, mild dysuria, and low-grade fever". He was found to have epididymo-orchitis caused by salmonella and this condition is very rare but that does not make it African. Africa is still as safe as any other destination and Salmonella epidydimo-orchitis is still a very rare clinical entity.
In addition, testicles do not burst or explode, they rupture. It may seem unimportant but on a close reading of the circumstances, exploding like a volcano is probably a stretch. Unfortunately, such wanton statements affect the tourism industry in Africa and the damage is difficult to repair.