It has been revealed that X Factor judge Cheryl Cole is suspected to have contracted malaria, after shocking onlookers when she collapsed at a photoshoot last weekend.
The 27-year-old Girls Aloud star collapsed while shooting pictures for her second solo album last Saturday, and she was rushed to a London hospital the following Monday (5th July).
Whilst it was first believed that Cheryl was suffering from exhaustion and gastroenteritis, she was later diagnosed with malaria. As the symptoms of flu and malaria are fairly similar – fever, headaches, nausea, cold sweats and shaking – it is sometimes difficult to spot malaria, a potentially fatal condition.
After working non-stop for the last six months, Cheryl managed to get a short spell of rest and relaxation on a recent trip to Tanzania three weeks ago with close friend Derek Hough. Although Cheryl is reported to have taken malaria tablets in advance of her African trip, it is believed that she contracted the disease whilst in Tanzania nonetheless.
On the advice of doctors, all of Cheryl’s work commitments have been cancelled for at least a week. She has had a gruelling schedule of late; working on her second album, touring with the Black Eyed Peas, shooting adverts for L’Oreal, and filming the latest rounds of X Factor auditions around the country.
In the last year or so, she has also had to face a highly-publicised split from estranged husband Ashley and a scandal involving her brother Andrew, who was at one point arrested for armed robbery.
