Barely known trigger Tourist wakes up in vacation paradise - and experiences the horror of wounds

A young British woman wakes up with blisters and open wounds during her trip to Asia in Vietnam. The trigger: an inconspicuous but highly poisonous beetle that is particularly active during the rainy season.

Ellise, a 22-year-old British woman, was on a backpacking trip through Southeast Asia lasting several weeks when she experienced an eerie awakening in Vietnam: overnight, her body was covered in wounds, blisters and redness. She also had a fever, headache and nausea.

At first, she didn't know what had happened. In a remote village with no medical care, she sought help at a pharmacy, where photos of her injuries were sent to a dermatologist. The suspicion was quickly confirmed: Ellise had come into contact with a poisonous beetle of the genus Paederus fuscipes - a species of short-winged beetle that is widespread in the region.

The insect, often incorrectly referred to as the "three-chambered ant", does not sting, but releases a chemical substance called pederin when crushed or rubbed. This directly attacks the skin, causes burns and blistering and can lead to severe inflammation, as documented by the US National Library of Medicine.

Invisible danger in the rainy season

Especially during the rainy season, when humidity and temperature rise, the activity and population of these beetles increases significantly. They are attracted to light sources - and so easily find their way into hotel rooms or accommodation.

Ellise was given a combination of creams, ointments and antibiotics. After a few days, the wounds healed visibly, as she documented in a Tiktok video. "I was lucky," she said in the clip, "the scars are almost gone - but the experience was scary."

Travel medicine experts advise not to touch insects with bare hands and to shield light sources at night if possible. Although contact with Paederus species is rarely life-threatening, it can cause long-term skin damage.