Pune Divisional Commissioner Dr. Chandrakant Pulkundwar announced that 54 people have been diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) in the district, and four others are suspected of having this rare neurological disease.
Dr Pulkundwar held a meeting with state and district health officials to review the situation in Pune after hospitals reported 24 GBS cases to the Pune Municipal Corporation.
He said he has instructed the health authorities to take the full medical history of the patients. GBS is an autoimmune disease that produces antibodies that attack the body’s nerves. It is a sequela of illness such as gastrointestinal or flu.
Doctors also urged citizens not to panic as about one in a thousand people with Campylobacter infection get GBS. However, the chances of recovery are higher with supportive ventilation and medications such as intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), they said.
District collector Jitendra Dudi said that a household survey will be conducted in the areas covered under the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits. These are mainly the areas around Sinhagad road, including Nanded, Kirkatwadi and others. GBS cases were reported to the PMC mainly in the Sinhagad Road area, following admission of patients to the intensive care unit of Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, Poona Hospital, and others.
Some doctors have said that research shows that GBS-related bacteria are linked to inadequately sterilized water and can lead to outbreaks. Dr. Amit Dravid, who is a consultant in infectious diseases at Poona Hospital, said that some patients diagnosed with GBS were found to be infected with Campylobacter bacteria.
When asked about the source of the virus, the district collector said that instructions have been issued to take water samples from these areas. “The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology (NIV) team has also collected samples from the patients, and their report is expected soon,” said Dudi.
The collector also said that since medicines are expensive, they have sought permission from the government to include them under the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana, the flagship health insurance scheme of the Maharashtra government. “We also issue advice to boil water for drinking purpose”, he added.
Dr Sameer Jog, health specialist at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, said teams from NIV, district health and public health departments contacted patients on Wednesday and collected samples.
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