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At least five people have died in the western Indian state of Maharashtra due to suspected cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) as the country appeared to battle an outbreak of the neurological disease that causes paralysis.
The number of GBS cases rose to about 163, with most of them being reported from in and around Pune city, an emerging IT hub located about 180km from Mumbai. At least 21 patients are on ventilator support and 48 were admitted to intensive care, according to the state government.
GBS is a nerve disease that affects senses, movements, breathing, and heartbeat in humans. The condition, in which the body’s immune system attacks nerves, can cause paralysis and even death.
The symptoms begin with tingling and numbness in feet and hand followed by muscle weakness and difficulty moving joints. It reportedly affects 1,500 people in the UK every year.
Most people recover fully from even the most severe cases of GBS, although some continue to experience weakness, the health agencies say.
About 90 per cent of the suspected cases were in the 0-59 age group, while the highest number of cases were reported in the age group of 20-29, according to The Hindu.
In the northeastern state of Assam, a 17-year-old girl died of suspected GBS at a private hospital last week. However, the state government has not released an update on the reported cases so far.
The outbreak in Pune city is traced to a pathogen called campylobacter jejuni, which has been the biggest driver of GBS worldwide, the BBC reported.
State health minister Prakash Abitkar said the outbreak was most likely due to contaminated water sources. An investigation revealed the presence of E coli bacteria in one of the samples obtained from private borewells in an area with a high number of cases.
Drainage water gets mixed with potable water in some affected areas in Pune where water lines and drainage lines run side by side, leading to contamination and caused the spike in GBS cases among other possible reasons, health experts said.
Health authorities have urged citizens to drink boiling water and avoid the consumption of uncooked meat and stale food.
“Auto-immune diseases are not communicable, they cannot spread from one patient to another. But the causative infection usually spreads,” Avinash Bhondwe, the former president of the Indian Medical Association, Maharashtra, told Reuters.
The World Health Organisation last week said they were working closely with authorities in Pune to trace and test suspected cases and follow up on confirmed cases.
There’s no cure for GBS, but treatments can speed recovery and reduce symptoms, the health body said. It added that the acute phase is typically treated with immunotherapy, such as plasma exchange to remove antibodies from the blood or intravenous immunoglobulin.
