Maharashtra reports second suspected GBS death, cases now at 127

According to health officials, this is the second suspected fatality from the GBS outbreak. “However, the death audit committee will review the case and confirm the cause of the death,” Dr Nina Borade, medical health officer of the Pune Municipal Corporation told The Indian Express.

On January 25, state health authorities had reported the first suspected GBS-death of a 40- year-old man who hailed from Solapur but was staying at Dhayari in Pune.

Of the 127 suspected GBS cases, health authorities have confirmed the diagnosis of 72 persons. Of these, 23 are from Pune Municipal Corporation, 73 persons are from the villages that have been merged within the Pune Municipal Corporation limits, 13 are from Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, nine are from Pune rural and nine patients are from other districts.

The common symptoms of GBS include sudden onset of weakness in hands or legs and diarrhoea for a sustained period. Officials from the state health department said 121 stool samples were sent to ICMR-National Institute of Virology for tests on the enterovirus panel. Of these, 21 tested positive for Norovirus and five for campylobacter virus. A total of 25 samples of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were sent to the apex institute, where one was confirmed positive for Epstein-Barr virus.

A total of 144 water samples have been collected from different parts of the city and sent for chemical and biological analysis to the state public health laboratory. Samples from eight water sources were found to be contaminated.

Meanwhile, in their advisory, citizens have been urged to boil water and ensure they consume good hygienic food. Officials have stepped up door-to-door surveillance and have surveyed over 50,000 homes.