According to reports, Zac Efron has been rushed to hospital after contracting a ‘deadly illness’ while in Papua New Guinea.
The 32-year-old actor was filming his new series called Killing Zac Efron when he contracted the illness and has since been rushed to hospital in Australia for treatment.
Efron is said to have been flown to Brisbane where he was admitted to the private St Andrews War Memorial Hospital in Spring Hill ‘in a stable condition’.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, the actor contracted ‘a form of typhoid or similar bacterial infection’ but was given the all-clear to fly home to America in time for Christmas Eve.
Fans took to Twitter to express their concern for the actor, with one person saying:
Zac Efron just got rushed to hospital from filming a show called ‘Killing Zac Efron’ and if he dies because of this who do I got to kill!!????
Another worried fan, @wasbornblack, commented on Efron’s most recent Instagram post from November 26, saying:
hey Zac, I heard about your accident and I just wanted to wish you to heal but also the best for 2020, health and happiness but also love and to keep on doing the things you love (acting, singing) you’re such a talented man I really hope you’re feeling better soon, I love you really much, take care
Dr Glenn McKay, director of Medical Rescue, the organisation that oversaw Efron’s flight, declined to say whether the actor was the patient in question, but confirmed the organisation ‘retrieved a US citizen in his 30s from PNG to Brisbane for medical attention in Australia’.
New series Killing Zac Efron will be released on new streaming platform Quibi, which is being launched next year. The show will see the 32-year-old go ‘off the grid’ for 21 days with nothing but basic gear and a guide partner.
In a statement, Efron said:
I tend to thrive under extreme circumstances and seek out opportunities that challenge me on every level. I am excited to explore any uncharted territory and discover what unexpected adventure awaits!
Back in 2014, Zac went to the northeastern Appalachian mountain range with former SAS serviceman Bear Grylls.
In the programme, titled Running Wild with Bear Grylls, you see Efron jump out of a helicopter, eat live insects and scale the side of a waterfall.
Today, December 29, Mirror Online reported Efron was well enough to attend a friends and family shopping evening at the Vejo pop-up store in Los Angeles on December 21.
Killing Zac Efron will air on Quibi in April 2020.
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Niamh Shackleton is a pint sized person and journalist at UNILAD. After studying Multimedia Journalism at the University of Salford, she did a year at Caters News Agency as a features writer in Birmingham before deciding that Manchester is (arguably) one of the best places in the world, and therefore moved back up north. She’s also UNILAD’s unofficial crazy animal lady.