2 more suspected GBS deaths in Pune, 10 fresh cases reported
The number of suspected deaths in Maharashtra due to Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), a rare nerve disorder, rose to four with two deaths reported in Pune on Friday, while with ten fresh cases the tally in the state so far stood at 140, public health department officials said.
As per Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials, one death includes a 60-year-old man, a retired teacher from the GBS-affected area of DSK Vishwa in Dhayari. He was admitted to Poona Hospital on January 27 and reportedly died on Friday evening. The cause of death is said to be a bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis, a rare inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system and GBS.
The deceased on January 23 developed diarrhoea and visited a nearby hospital. Later on January 25 he developed weakness in his lower limbs and was shifted to Poona Hospital. His biofire stool gatrointestinal panel confirmed campylobacter jejuni, a bacterial infection that can trigger GBS and NCV test confirmed GBS. His condition was critical and the deceased was quadriplegia and on ventilator support, said officials.
The second death has been reported of a 36-year-old man from Pimple Gurav who died on Thursday while undergoing treatment at Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital (YCMH). His nerve conduction study (NCS) has confirmed GBS, said the officials.
According to the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) officials, the patient was admitted on January 21 complaining of flu-like symptoms and later developed severe symptoms of GBS. His NCS diagnostic tests, conducted on January 22 confirmed GBS, they said.
Dr Laxman Gophane, health officer of PCMC, said, “The deceased came with a simple cough and cold and the same day of hospitalisation and detected with bilateral pneumonia. He was put on ventilator support within five hours of admission. He later developed weakness of all four limbs with zero power. Despite efforts his health continued to deteriorate and succumbed on Thursday.”
The public health department reported the first suspected GBS death in a 40-year-old male on January 25, who died while undergoing treatment at a private facility in Solapur. The deceased, who died in his native Solapur, worked in Pune and was a resident of Dhayari and was suspected to have contracted the disease. The second deceased included a 56-year-old woman resident of Sinhagad Road, who succumbed on January 28 at Sassoon General Hospital.
Out of these 140 suspected cases of GBS, as many as 98 have been diagnosed as confirmed GBS cases. Out of these patients—26 are from PMC, 78 are from newly added villages in the PMC area, 15 are from Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, 10 are from Pune rural, and 11 are from other districts.
“As many as 18 GBS patients undergoing treatment in various hospitals in the Pune district are on ventilator support,” said Dr Babita Kamlapurkar, joint director of health services.
“The health department has started house-to-house surveillance in the GBS affected areas of the district and covered a total 63,470 houses this includes— 40,457 houses in PMC, 10,718 houses in PCMC and 12,295 houses in Pune rural areas respectively,” said Dr Kamlapurkar.
