In the wake of the first reported death due to Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) in Maharashtra, the state government has appealed to citizens not to panic and to visit a government hospital if any symptoms appear. The government also emphasized the importance of implementing preventive measures.
According to a release from the state public health department issued late Monday night, there are currently 110 suspected GBS patients, with one confirmed death. Of these, eight have been diagnosed as confirmed GBS cases.
Of the 110 suspected cases, 88 are from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), 15 from the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), and seven from other districts. Among these, 73 are men and 37 are women, with 13 currently on ventilators.
On Monday, January 27, nine new suspected GBS patients were reported: seven from PMC, one from PCMC, and one from another district.
A Pune-based Chartered Accountant from the DSK Vishwa area in Dhayari, who had been suffering from diarrhea, passed away after being diagnosed with GBS. He was admitted to a private hospital in Solapur after feeling extreme weakness and was later moved to the ICU when he became unable to move his hands and legs. Despite initial improvements, he faced breathing problems and subsequently died.
GBS is an autoimmune disorder where the body’s immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system, causing muscle weakness and, in severe cases, paralysis. Common symptoms include sudden weakness or paralysis in the hands or legs, trouble walking, and sustained periods of diarrhea.
The state public health department has taken several measures to address the outbreak. These include deploying a state-level rapid response team to the affected area, increasing surveillance activities, and sending 44 stool samples to NIV Pune for testing. Of these samples, 14 tested positive for Noro virus and five for Campylobacter. Additionally, 59 blood samples have been tested, all of which were negative for Zika, Dengue, and Chikungunya.
Chemical and biological analysis of 34 water samples from different parts of the city revealed contamination in seven water sources. The public health department has instructed authorities to increase health promotion activities and has appealed to private medical practitioners to notify any GBS cases.
“Citizens should not panic. The state’s health department is prepared to implement preventive and control measures. In house-to-house surveillance activities, 23,017 houses in Pune MC, 4,441 houses in PCMC, and 7,610 houses in Pune rural areas have been surveyed (total 35,068),” stated an officer from the state public health department.
Citizens are urged to take every possible measure to ensure water quality, drink boiled water, keep food fresh and clean, and avoid infection by not keeping cooked and uncooked food items together.
