First Guillain-Barré Syndrome-linked death reported in Mumbai

A 53-year-old man from Mumbai has died due to the Guillain-Barré Syndrome, marking the first such death in the city, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday.

Eight persons have died of the illness in Maharashtra so far. Mumbai’s municipal corporation is yet to confirm whether the death was linked to the outbreak in Pune, where the other seven deaths have been reported.

The patient was an employee of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation-run VN Desai Hospital. He was on ventilator support at the civic body-operated Nair Hospital before dying due to the illness.

His family said that he had travelled to Pune for a day in January before falling ill.

Meanwhile, five new suspected cases of the Guillain-Barré Syndrome have been reported in Pune, PTI quoted a health department official as saying on Tuesday. This took the number of cases in the city to 197.

Of this, 172 are confirmed to be cases of the Guillain-Barré Syndrome. “While 104 patients have been discharged, 50 are in [the] Intensive Care Unit and 20 on ventilator support,” the health department said.

Guillain-Barré Syndrome is a rare neurological disorder in which the immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system. This causes symptoms such as muscle weakness, difficulty in walking and, in severe cases, paralysis. The condition is not contagious and the authorities have reassured…

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