130 Cases Of Guillain Barre Syndrome, 2 Deaths Till Now; Maharashtra’s Battle Continues
The state health department said in a release that of the total 130 patients tracked and under treatment now and 20 patients are on ventilator support.
A total of 130 suspected patients and 2 suspected deaths of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) have been found in Maharashtra so far, the fresh data released by the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme Public Health Department in Pune on the ongoing outbreak in the state's several pockets showed.
Earlier on Wednesday, a woman is suspected to have died of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in Maharashtra, only 3 days after Pravin Vibhute, a 41-year-old Chartered Accountant from Pune's DSK Vishwa area had lost his battle for life of suspected GBS on Sunday.
Employed in Pune and residing at DSK Vishwa, one of the GBS clusters, Vibhute had travelled to his native Solapur for a Makar Sankranti festival when the diarrhoea that he had developed a week earlier in Pune took a turn for the worse and he was struck by paralysis on 17th January. He breathed his last on Sunday 26 January.
"A 56-year-old woman from Pune with co-morbidities is suspected to have succumbed to GBS at the state-run Sassoon General Hospital," a health department official reportedly told PTI.
The health department said in a release that of the total 130 patients tracked and under treatment now, 22 were of age group 0-9 years, 19 were aged 10-19, 30 were of age group 20-29, 16 were aged 30-39, 13 were aged 40-49, 18 were of age 50-59, and 12 were aged 60-69 years of age.
20 patients are currently on ventilators, it said. All blood samples sent to NIV laboratory have tested negative for Zika, dengue, chikungunya.
Measures implemented until now:
The Health Department has said that a state-level rapid response team visited the affected area immediately and the Pune Municipal Corporation and rural district authorities have been instructed to increase surveillance activities.
154 Water samples from different parts of the city have been sent for chemical and biological analysis to the Public Health Laboratory, samples from 8 water sources found contaminated.
Private medical practitioners have been informed that any suspected or confirmed cases of GBS that they come across or identify should be notified to the respective public health authorities.
The state’s health department has also urged the public to not press the panic button as the administration is prepared to implement preventive and control measures. Guillain Barre Syndrome is not a contagious disease like influenza, etc. but rather an autoimmune disorder where the body’s immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system.
GBS manifests itself by bringing about muscle weakness, and in severe cases, paralysis. In rare cases that do not respond well for various reasons, death can happen.
In house-to-house surveillance activities, 37803 houses in Pune MC, 9069 houses in PCMC and 11373 houses in Pune rural areas have been surveyed (total 58245).
Guidance for citizens:
- Drink boiled water till further notice.
- Avoid semi-cooked, stale, or outside food.
- Beware especially of non-vegetarian food that has not been cooked well.
The writer is a senior independent journalist.
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