Man suspected to have contracted GBS dies in Maharashtra; cases top 100 in Pune
Pune (PTI): A man suspected to have contracted Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) has died in Maharashtra's Solapur district, while the number of cases of the immunological nerve disorder in Pune has crossed 100, health officials said on Monday.
This is possibly the first death in Maharashtra suspected to have been caused by the GBS.
The man, native of Solapur, had come to Pune, where he is suspected to have contracted the disease.
He died in Solapur, an official said without giving more details.
"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 state health department official said.
Meanwhile, the Rapid Response Team (RRT) and the Pune Municipal Corporation's health department continued surveillance in the affected Sinhgad Road areas here.
A total of 25,578 houses have been surveyed so far, including 15,761 in the Pune Municipal Corporation limits, 3,719 in Chinchwad Municipal Corporation limits, and 6,098 houses in the district's rural areas, the official said.
GBS is a rare condition that causes sudden numbness and muscle weakness, with symptoms including severe weakness in the limbs, loose motions etc.
Bacterial and viral infections generally lead to GBS as they weaken the immunity of patients, according to doctors.
While GBS is prevalent in both paediatric and young-age groups, it will not lead to an epidemic or pandemic, they said, adding that most patients recover fully with treatment.
The state health department set up the Rapid Response Team to investigate the sudden rise in this infection after 24 suspected cases were found initially.
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2 Indian nationals part of crew of luxury cruise ship that reported hantavirus outbreak
London (PTI): At least two Indian nationals are part of the crew of the Dutch vessel MV Hondius which reported a hantavirus outbreak with five confirmed cases and three deaths so far, according to the BBC.
The luxury cruise ship, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, began its journey on April 1 from Argentina’s Ushuaia and is expected to arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands on May 10.
About 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries were initially aboard the luxury cruise, but dozens disembarked on the island of St Helena on April 24, according to the report.
Of the 28 nationalities onboard, 38 are from the Philippines, 31 from the UK, 23 from the US, 16 from the Netherlands, 14 from Spain, nine from Germany, six from Canada, and two crew members from India, among others, the BBC reported.
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The World Health Organization said on Thursday that five of the eight suspected hantavirus cases had been confirmed.
A 69-year-old Dutch woman, confirmed to have the virus, has died; her Dutch husband and a German woman were also among the fatalities. Their cases are being investigated.
The UN health agency has said the outbreak is not the start of a pandemic.
Maria van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at WHO, told a news briefing that the situation is not the same as six years ago with Covid-19 because hantavirus spreads through “close, intimate contact”.
Van Kerkhove said “this is not Covid, this is not influenza, it spreads very, very differently”. She said authorities had asked “everyone to wear a mask” on board the MV Hondius.
Those in contact with or caring for suspected cases, she added, should “wear a higher level of personal protective equipment”.
Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents - but in the latest outbreak the transmission between people was documented for the first time, the WHO said.
Meanwhile, health authorities are racing to trace dozens of people who have recently disembarked from the Dutch vessel MV Hondius.
Oceanwide Expedition said 29 passengers, of at least 12 different nationalities, had left the MV Hondius in St Helena, the British Overseas Territory.
It also said the body of one deceased person—now known to be a Dutch man - was taken off the vessel.
Seven of those who left the cruise liner were British nationals.
