Russell Brand risked ‘bloody diarrhoea’ and long-term gut problems for Thames baptism

Russell Brand could suffer painful and long-standing gut issues after submerging himself in the Thames to get baptised this week.

The actor and comedian, who was accused by four women of rape and sexual assault in last year’s Dispatches documentary on Channel 4, took a dip in the river to "leave his past behind him", supported by his friend Bear Grylls.

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Dr Alasdair Scott of Selph confirmed swimming in open bodies of water is one of the most common ways to get infected with parasites.

Dr Scott explained the parasites giardia and cryptosporidium can cause long-term gut issues, and Thames swimmers are also at risk of Weil’s disease, a severe infection that can cause fever, renal failure, jaundice, hemorrhage, and respiratory distress.

“That’s carried in rats, they wee and their urine contains leptospirosis,” he explained.

Read more: ‘Blessed’ Russell Brand joined by Bear Grylls for baptism in the Thames

“And obviously you’ve got sewage being dumped in the Thames.”

A study showed 92% of samples from the Thames contained coliform bacteria, which can lead to gastroenteritis and diarrhoea.

“They’re like e coli, basically,” Dr Scott went on. “They’re coming from faeces and can cause anything from traveller’s diarrhoea and toxic e coli releases some quite serious toxins that can cause renal failure in people and can cause some quite serious outbreaks.

“If I was to swim in the Thames, I wouldn’t swim in the London bit of it. But you’re probably fine to the west.”

It’s unknown where exactly along the Thames Russell was baptised or how long he was submerged.

However, Dr Scott clarified that any ingestion of polluted water can put people at risk of these issues.

“It’s all a risk,” he said. “You could take one mouthful of the Thames and just happen to take in a bacterial parasite and that’s it. So it could just be you drop in, get one mouthful and that’s it.

“Or you could, equally, spend a year swimming in the Thames every day and get nothing.

“Russell’s getting baptised, so he’s unlikely to get anything from a one-off, but he could.”

If Russell caught a coliform bacteria, symptoms would manifest quickly and would include vomiting and diarrhea.

However, parasites like giardia can cause more severe problems, ranging from abdominal pain and bloating to bloody diarrhea that can last for weeks or months.

“Then you’ve got conditions like Weil’s disease, which causes more general body symptoms like fever, headache, muscle aches,” Dr Scott said. “It can affect your liver, you can get jaundice, where your eyes go yellow.

“And it’s got quite a long incubation period, so it can be as much as four weeks. You could be fine for four weeks and then develop those kind of symptoms.”

Dr Scott also noted that Russell’s friend Bear Grylls may have more of a tolerance to these issues after regularly exposing himself to unpleasant food and conditions throughout his outdoor career, but would still suffer from the “more nasty pathogens”.

“I certainly wouldn’t go swimming in the Thames,” he added as a final warning to would-be divers. “If you ever do swim in contaminated waters and you start to feel unwell, it's important to take a gut parasite test straight away.

“If there are any abnormalities, you must go to your GP straight away.”

More information can be found at www.selph.co.uk.