A 60-year-old man from Pune's Warje Malewadi, who was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), died after suffering a respiratory failure at Sassoon General Hospital on Saturday at around 12:30am, officials said.
According to the officials, the patient had reported symptoms like loose motion and lower limb weakness. He was also drowsy and unable to pass urine. He was admitted to SGH on January 16 and was put on ventilator support.
In another case, a 60-year-old man from Pune's Dhayari, who was diagnosed with GBS, died after suffering a cardiac arrest at Poona Hospital on January 31. On January 30, another 36-year-old man diagnosed with GBS died at the Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital (YCMH) in Pimpri-Chinchwad. With these new cases, the total death count has reached five. Earlier, two patients — a 56-year-old woman from Pune and a man from Solapur — had died due to suspected GBS.
Meanwhile, the total number of suspected GBS cases has risen to 149, and 5 suspected deaths of GBS have been found until now. Of these, 124 are diagnosed as confirmed GBS cases.
The distribution of cases is as follows: 29 patients are from Pune Municipal Corporation, 82 from newly added villages in the PMC area, 17 from Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, 13 from Pune Rural, and 8 are from other districts. Of the 124 suspected patients of GBS, 28 are currently on the ventilator.
These infections are likely linked to contaminated water sources. 160 water samples from different parts of the city have been sent for chemical and biological analysis to the Public Health Laboratory. Samples from 8 water sources were found contaminated, as per the data shared by the state.
GBS is a rare neurological disorder, and respiratory muscles in some patients also get impacted. PCMC authorities have appealed to citizens not to panic and have also set up a helpline number (7758933017) to respond to queries from citizens.
