Pune reports 100 cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome with 1 suspected death

The first suspected death from Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) in Maharashtra occurred in Pune, where a patient passed away after contracting the illness while visiting his hometown in Solapur.

To date, over 100 GBS cases have been reported in Pune.

The patient, who was admitted to a private hospital in Solapur on January 18 with symptoms including cold, cough, and breathing difficulties, was initially placed in the ICU.

After showing improvement, he was transferred to a regular room, but his condition worsened, and he was readmitted to the ICU, where he ultimately passed away.

“A 40-year-old patient died at a private hospital and was brought to us for post-mortem. According to the preliminary report, the patient’s death appears to be due to Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS),” said Dr Sanjeev Thakur, Dean of Government Medical College, Solapur.

“I checked his clinical history; he had suspected GBS. Despite being on treatment for five days, he has succumbed. Along with the medical postmortem, we decided to do clinical PM. Clinical PM is done to understand the exact cause of death. We involved two biologists and pathologists. A team of four carried out the autopsy. The clinical report and autopsy report prima facie suggest the cause of death is GBS,” he added.

He continued, “To further confirm this, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood samples have been sent for polymerase chain reaction. The exact reason we will come to know after microbiological and histopathology reports are out. It will take 5 to 6 days for the report to come.”

“The total number of GBS cases in Pune on Sunday increased to 101, comprising 68 males and 33 females. Of these, 16 patients are on ventilator support. One suspected death has been reported in Solapur,” the state health department official said.

In the meantime, the Pune Municipal Corporation's health department and the Rapid Response Team (RRT) kept an eye on the impacted Sinhgad Road districts.

According to the official, around 25,000 houses have been surveyed thus far, with over 15,000 located within the boundaries of the Pune Municipal Corporation, more than 3,000 within the boundaries of the Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, and around 6,000 inside the rural parts of the district.

When a person has GBS, an autoimmune neurological condition, their immune system targets their peripheral nerves, causing muscle weakness that can eventually lead to paralysis.

It may take a few days or a few weeks to develop.

While Guillain-Barré Syndrome can affect individuals of all ages, adults and men are more commonly impacted.

The condition is rare, with an estimated incidence of 1 to 2 cases per 100,000 people.

While the exact cause remains unclear, bacterial or viral infections are typically the triggering factors.