Mumbai, the bustling metropolis of India, has reported its first death due to Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), a rare neurological disorder. The deceased, a 53-year-old man from Wadala, was employed as a ward attendant at the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation's VN Desai Hospital. His demise marks the first GBS-related fatality in the city.
The man was admitted to Nair Hospital on January 23, presenting with fever. Following a series of tests, including one that detected fluid in his brain, he was diagnosed with GBS. His condition rapidly deteriorated, necessitating his transfer to the intensive care unit (ICU) for critical treatment.
Despite receiving intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) for five days, undergoing three cycles of plasmapheresis, and being administered antibiotics for a lower respiratory tract infection, he succumbed to his illness late Monday night, confirmed Nair Hospital Dean, Dr. Shailesh Mohite.
The official cause of death, as per a report from Nair Hospital's Department of Community Medicine, was "Septic shock with Sepsis with lower respiratory tract infection with Guillain-Barre Syndrome." The report also mentioned that a tracheostomy was performed on the patient.
In the wake of this tragic event, another case of GBS has been reported. A 16-year-old girl from Palghar district, currently studying in class 10, has been admitted to Nair Hospital due to GBS symptoms. Fortunately, her condition is stable, and she is undergoing treatment at the hospital.
The state Public Health Department has been closely monitoring the situation. As of February 11, 197 suspected GBS patients were detected. Of these, 172 were diagnosed with GBS. The department also reported seven deaths, four confirmed due to GBS and three suspected.
The patients are spread across the state, with 40 from Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), 92 from newly added villages in PMC area, 29 from Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, 28 from Pune rural, and eight from other districts.
State Public Health Minister Prakash Abitkar has appealed to the citizens not to panic and take adequate care, including drinking boiled water and eating fresh food. This appeal comes in the wake of the Union health minister JP Nadda's high-level meeting with Maharashtra 's key health and medical officials to assess the public health response, including testing and treatment strategies for GBS patients in the state.
In Pune, five more suspected Guillain-Barre Syndrome cases have been reported, bringing the overall tally to 197. The health department official stated on Tuesday that While 104 patients have been discharged, 50 are in ICU and 20 on ventilator support. The number of deaths suspected to have been caused by GBS in the region stood unchanged at seven.
In an attempt to curb the outbreak, officials have sealed 30 private water plants in the epicenter of the outbreak, which is located in Nanded Village, Hayari, and nearby areas along Sinhgad Road in Pune. The decision to shut down the plants came after water samples collected from them were found to be unfit for consumption.
