The Guillain- Barre Syndrome (GBS) cases are on a rise in Pune, Maharashtra. As reported by state health officials, there are a suspected 140 cases in the city with 98 diagnosed with confirmed GBS cases.
The official release states, “26 patients are from Pune city, 78 from newly added PMC area, 15 from Pimpri Chinchwad, 10 from Pune Rural, and 11 from other districts.”
The two additional deaths that were reported on January 31, 2025 were from Pimpri Chinchwad and Pune. One of the deceased was a 36 year old Ola-Uber driver who was admitted to Yashwantrao Chavan Gospital on 21st January as suspected to be suffering from GBS.
The fourth victim who died on Friday was a 60-year old man from Dhayari area off Sinhgad road in Pune. He was admitted to hospital after suffering loose motion and weakness in the lower limbs. According to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), the patient died due to cardiac arrest.
Owing to the rise in cases and even the death toll increase, the Pune Municipal Corporation has issued certain guidelines in order to ensure proper safety and precautions. These include:
Water safety measures
Food safety guidelines
Hand washing practices
The Union Health Ministry has also sent high-level multidisciplinary team to Pune to provide all the added necessary support that will keep the situation in control.
Total 160 water samples from different parts of Pune have also been sent for chemical and biological analysis to the Public Health Laboratory. The samples from eight water sources were found contaminated.
This GBS outbreak can be one of the largest in the world. Until 2019 it was in Peru that is considered to have been the worst in the world. There were 1120 cases in 2019. Until now, in India the cases only restrict to Pune. However, GBS cannot necessarily lead to an epidemic like situation. The common factors and links have to be considered to arrive to the conclusion as to why the syndrome emerged as an outbreak. The campylobacter jejuni, the bacteria that is reportedly causing the deaths, is said to have higher disability and mortality rates.