New Delhi: The Maharashtra Health Department on Sunday (January 26) reported the first suspected death linked to the Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) outbreak concentrated in Pune, with the death being reported from Solapur.
The caseload too spiked to 101 with 28 more confirmed infections, reported The Times of India.
Sixteen of the patients diagnosed with this rare but treatable condition are currently on ventilator support. Around 19 of the affected persons are below nine years of age while in 23 cases, the patients are from the 50-80 years age group.
A patient who was hospitalised on January 9 is suspected to be the first GBS case within the Pune cluster. Tests have revealed the Campylobacter jejuni bacteria in some biological samples drawn from hospitalised cases.
Water samples are being collected by authorities from the areas in Pune which are reporting cases.
GBS occurs when the body’s immune system, while reacting to a bacterial or viral infection, mistakenly attacks the nerves that carry brain signals to parts of the body, leading to weakness, paralysis or other symptoms.
The treatment of GBS is quite expensive, with each shot of injection costing Rs. 20,000.
