Priyanka Tiwari
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Guillain-Barré Syndrome's outburst in Pune, a city so well-documented for its happenings, has left physicians regarding its ninth casualty confounded. An, overly quick, progression of the disease is being reported in certain patients and this standard menacing outcome (death) reaches to a 20 something aged resident of Wagholi, who passed away on Feburary 20.
According to experts at Sassoon General and YCM Hospitals, GBS is rather old and the impact of paralysis GBS tends to ancient cases at this degree is frightening. GBS normally takes months to expand itself, but is reported to be spreading fiercely all across. The patient from Wagholi reported diarrhea on 25th of January, but the sad part is, he wasn't done yet. On the 2nd of February, he'll be greeted with non-stop tingling all over his body alongside a massive power outage in his lower section, just when you think the curtains have closed, they'll tease you with thumping power, shifting your body power from your lower section to your upper one in less than 6 hours.
The reason behind the aggression, lot while still being a possibility, certainly does not sparkle hope and continuous medical action for attending GBS patients will be rendered futile.
"It can often take up to 10 days for someone to start twiddling their toes and fingers while having their upper body muscles impacted, but more strangely, like a blessing in disguise, we realized this occuring within a day or two." said Dr. Niranjan Pathak from YCM Hospital.
The Times of India reports that doctors have suggested a new GBS variant, Acute Motor Axonal Neuropathy (AMAN), could explain the rapid decline in certain Pune patients’ health. This is one of the most severe types of GBS and is associated with a high rate of somatic progression.
The GBS Pune outbreak is suspected to be connected with a Campylobacter infection in clusters which is known to precede GBS. In other countries, viral outbreaks, such as the Zika virus, seem to trigger similar clusters. Experts are trying to determine if a particular virus caused the increase in infections.
Around eleven GBS deaths, confirmed or suspected, have been documented so far in the Pune district. Many patients are on ventilators because of respiratory failure.
"15% of patients with GBS admitted so far are on ventilators and this is what we expected," says Dr Sameer Jog, senior neurologist at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital.
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is now looking into the reason for every reported GBS death. Some of the deaths are already reported to be GBS caused while few others are known not to be.
The chief health officer of PMC, Dr. Nina Borade shared the news saying: “At first, GBS cases were verified using a Nerve Conduction Test (NCT), but now the process involves a task force of neurologists, microbiologists, and general practitioners for thorough case analysis and diagnosis.”.
What do we mean by Gullyan-Barre Syndrome?
Gullyan-Barre Syndrome is a condition where the immune system of a person deals with the nerves on a very personal level. The various types of GBS are referred to as Acute Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy (AIDP), Miller Fisher Syndrome (MFS), Acute Motor - Axonal Neuropathy (AMAN) , and Acute Motor-Sensory Axonal Neuropathy (AMSAN). Reports have suggested GBS inflicts numbness, a feeling of weakness or in severe cases, paralysis. The initial symptoms encompass a feeling of weakness along with tingling in the fingers along with feet.
What do you do in such cases?
Treatments such as plasma exchange or intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) have resulted in massive progressive change in the emerging results, but prompt care is crucial. According to the doctors, within six months post hospital discharge, 80% of patients manage to walk unsupervised but some may take an entire year or more to fully regain mobility in their limbs.
