The Wiggles’ Anthony Field has revealed that he has been struggling with a viral brain condition that he likely contracted from young fans.

Speaking on the WHO ARE YOU podcast, the singer and musician said the illness left him unable to exercise for up to three years.

“I got viral meningitis, which the doctors say I probably got from the audience, high-fiving children and not using the hand sanitiser,” said Field.

“That was dreadful. It was 2-3 years ago, and now I’ve just started getting back into exercise.”

The brain lining infection was another struggle for the 55-year-old Blue Wiggle, who has also been battling with clinical depression and anxiety for years.

He said his mental health problem has led him to have extremely negative thoughts and anxiety attacks in the past. “If there’s a big wave at the beach, I’d seriously think everyone’s going to get killed,” he said. 

“Crazy stuff like that, if there’s any bump on the plane I’m sure it’s going to go down.

“I’ve been on the Westgate Bridge, I was driving the car and had an anxiety attack where the bridge was rocking and it was going to fall.

“I stopped the car in the middle of the bridge. I was frozen with fear. That’s how bad it was.”

In a 2018 interview with the ABC’s Anh’s Brush With Fame, Field said the depression that he has been dealing with since his teenage years made him feel isolated, despite the fame from being in the children’s musical group. 

“You’re in a crowd with people and you feel like you’re the only person who feels like that. They don’t understand me. No one understands me. No one gets me.”

He said he still enjoyed performing, but struggled once the curtains closed. 

“It’s just when you come off stage you were back to being, ‘Jeez!’” he said.

“I’d be in the dressing rooms bloody bawling my eyes out by myself, after you’d just played to, you know, a couple of thousand people.”

In the podcast, Field said he had learnt to manage his conditions since then with medication, therapy sessions, dietary changes and hypnotherapy.