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Woman from Sinhagad Road dies of suspected GBS; 16 fresh cases reported in Pune
The health department also recorded 16 fresh suspected GBS cases in Pune district, bringing the case-load number to 127
The public health department on Wednesday reported a suspected death due to Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) in Pune, with a 56-year-old woman from Sinhagad Road succumbing to the illness while undergoing treatment at Sassoon General Hospital (SGH). This is the second suspected GBS death in the state.
According to officials, the woman, a resident of Nandoshi, developed symptoms of tingling and weakness in all four limbs on January 15. She initially sought treatment at a nearby private healthcare facility before being admitted to SGH on January 17. She passed away on January 28 while undergoing treatment.
Hospital authorities cited respiratory failure with autonomic dysfunction and quadriplegia as the immediate cause of death. GBS was identified as the antecedent cause, with lower respiratory tract infection and sepsis as contributing factors.
Dr Nina Borade, health chief of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), confirmed that the case is being considered a suspected GBS death.
“The patient had a travel history to Gorhe Budruk on January 15 and was a cancer survivor. She had undergone oral cancer surgery five years ago. A review committee will investigate the exact cause of death,” he said.
The first case involved a 40-year-old man who died on January 25. The deceased, a native of Solapur, worked in Singhagad area of Pune and had gone back to Solapur after reporting severe gastrointestinal distress.
The health department on Wednesday recorded 16 fresh suspected GBS cases in Pune district. “Of these, 72 cases have been confirmed as GBS,” said Dr Babita Kamlapurkar, joint director of health services.
She said that among the total cases, 23 patients are from PMC areas, 73 are from newly added villages in PMC limits, 13 are from Pimpri-Chinchwad, 9 are from Pune rural areas, and 9 are from other districts. Currently, 127 suspected and confirmed GBS patients are undergoing treatment at various hospitals across Pune district. Among them, 20 patients are on ventilator support, while 13 have been discharged.
Most of the cases have been reported from Kirkatwadi, DSK Vishwa, Nanded City, and Khadakwasla—all located along Sinhagad Road. However, health officials have yet to determine the exact cause of water contamination believed to be behind the surge in the cases.
An expert team from the Central Health Ministry visited the affected areas, including a well in Nanded village, which supplies water to these localities. The team will continue its surveillance until January 31 before submitting its recommendations. Additionally, PMC has sent water samples to the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to test for metal contamination.
Authorities have also sent 121 stool samples to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for testing. Of these, 21 samples tested positive for Norovirus, while five were positive for Campylobacter. Additionally, 25 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were sent to NIV, with one testing positive for the Epstein-Barr virus.
To rule out other infections, 200 blood samples were tested, all of which were negative for Zika, Dengue, and Chikungunya. Meanwhile, 144 water samples from different parts of the city were sent for chemical and biological analysis.
