GBS outbreak in Pune: Seven members of central team deployed

New Delhi: With over hundred Guillain-Barre Syndrome cases in Pune, the Union Health Ministry on Monday said a seven member expert team was deployed to work with the local authorities to implement the public health measures and manage the cases.

The central team of Maharashtra comprises seven experts drawn from National Center for Disease Control, Delhi; National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences Bengaluru; Regional Office of Health and Family Welfare and National Institute for Virology, Pune.

While three experts from NIV were already supporting the local authorities; the central team has now been expanded.

The experts would work closely with the state health departments, take stock of the ground situation and recommend necessary public health interventions, health ministry officials said.

The strengthening of the central team comes in the wake of over 100 GBS cases and at least one suspected death in Solapur by the rare neurological disease.

The deceased individual had come to Pune, where he was suspected to have contracted the disease, and died in Solapur, a Maharashtra health department official said.

"The total number of GBS cases in Pune on Sunday increased to 101, comprising 68 males and 33 females. Of these, 16 patients are on ventilator support. One suspected death has been reported in Solapur," the official said.

Medical researchers and doctors probing the cases suspect that the surge was triggered by a bacterial infection by a pathogen called Campylobacter that is known to cause a GBS infection in every 1,000 infections.

Campylobacter is the most common cause of gastroenteritis in humans and is transmitted by contaminated food or water.

While laboratory tests have confirmed the bacteria’s presence in some of the patients, more tests are being conducted to determine if such an infection was behind the majority of the GBS cases in Pune.

The Union Health Ministry, officials said, was monitoring the situation and coordinating with the state. The Maharashtra government deployed a nine-member team of specialists to investigate the surge and manage the situation.

Doctors say GBS doesn't require separate treatment and supportive care, such as antibiotics, IV fluids and treatments for paralysis are generally sufficient. The disease is self-limiting and recoverable.

Since a majority of the infections was reported from a particular area (Sinhagad Road), the local municipal authorities have undertaken a door-to-door surveillance as a part of which over 7000 households have been screened.