US actor hit by suspected typhoid while filming survival TV series in Papua New Guinea

This article is more than 8 months old

This article is more than 8 months old

The American actor Zac Efron has confirmed he recently fell ill while filming a survival reality TV show in Papua New Guinea.

Australian media had reported that Efron, 32, was flown by helicopter for treatment in Australia after contracting a bacterial infection, possibly typhoid, while shooting the Killing Zac Efron series.

In a post on Monday on his official Twitter account, accompanied by a photograph of him in Papua New Guinea, Efron said he was back home “for the holidays with my friends and family”.

“Very thankful to everyone who has reached out,” his post said. “I did get sick in Papua New Guinea but I bounced back quick and finished an amazing 3 weeks in PNG“

Glenn McKay, a doctor with the Medical Rescue Group, told the Daily Telegraph on Sunday he could not discuss confidential patient information, but could confirm “that Medical Rescue retrieved a US citizen in his 30s from PNG to Brisbane recently for medical attention”.

The newspaper reported that doctors allowed Efron to fly home to Los Angeles on Christmas Eve.

Typhoid fever is transmitted by contaminated food and water, and kills 216,000 to 600,000 people worldwide each year.

‘I wanted to make this film for the victims’: Zac Efron on playing Ted Bundy Read more

Killing Zac Efron is billed as an adventure series in which the star ventures “deep into the jungles of a remote, dangerous island to carve his own name in expedition history”.

The series was commissioned by the short content platform Quibi, which is scheduled to launch in April.

Efron had previously posted images on social media showing him in a canoe on PNG’s Sepik River and travelling to Yanchan Village to see a traditional skin-cutting ceremony.