11 Death, India struggles with creeping paralysis outbreaks linked to contaminated water
It was in early January that Awanti Naik's symptoms first crawled onto her, starting with dual vision, and then quickly felt a debilitating headache and a strange feeling on her face.
“I felt heavy in my chin and eyes, and my throat was completely blocked,” she said. “I was very worried.”
She and her husband rushed to the hospital, where she spent 12 days in intensive care, and she was injected intravenously as she could not speak or swallow.
Public school teacher Naik said she tried to communicate with the doctor to find out if she would recover from facial paralysis.
“I thought, 'I don't want to live like this. I don't want to live with dual vision,” Naik, 40, is slowly recovering.
She was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome or GBS, a rare autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks its nerves, causing muscle weakness and paralysis.
32 Still in intensive care
Naik's is one of 212 GBS cases in Pune as of Thursday, part of an outbreak that continues to see new patients diagnosed in the city, which has become a center for education and information technology And grow rapidly.
According to Pune city officials, 11 people died there as of Thursday afternoon and 2 people died in the past 48 hours.
More than a dozen patients are using ventilators and are still in intensive care.
Once the nature of the outbreak was determined, local authorities quickly worked to release the bed and pay the fees, said Dr. Ameet Dravid, an infectious disease expert who runs privately in Poona Hospital.
However, in the first few days of the outbreak in early January, many patients arrived at ERS with severe diarrhea and peristaltic paralysis, full of confusion.
Dravid said: “From a GB case in each hospital, a GB case in each hospital, we will be every six hospitals in each hospital in each hospital in each hospital in each hospital in each hospital in each hospital in each hospital in each hospital in each hospital in each week,” Dravid said. every hospital in it.
“That was the first to suspect something went wrong.”
Authorities analyzed the human fluids in patients and traced the outbreak to a pathogen called Campylobacter, a common cause of foodborne diseases and is believed to be the main bacterial type that causes GBS around the world.
But this disease is rare because there is only one specific strain of Campylobacter jejuni, which has an outer layer that mimics the structure of nerve cells, which actually leads to the development of autoimmune diseases. The outer layer around this particular strain of the pathogen deceives the body's immune system and the bacteria to kill its nerve cells, causing paralysis to the patient.
Therapy challenges
The World Health Organization has sent teams to Pune to help local health workers track and monitor cases in affected areas to ensure “every suspicious case is identified, diagnosed and treated”, “ It said in a press release.
It is well known that GB is difficult to diagnose, especially for doctors in remote areas of India, as it requires a dedicated test kit.
Dravid told CBC News in his private clinic, adding that he thanked the patient for being taken to a hospital where qualified neurologists are available for help identify the cause of paralysis.
After extensive testing of more than 6,000 water samples, officials have tracked the possible sources of the pathogen that has left many people with severe diarrhea to contaminate wells and multiple other water sources.
They believe that bacterial contamination has entered water supply in areas where outbreaks are concentrated, but don’t know how it happens.
“We need to wake up”
Pune’s health officials and Maharashtra state authorities have repeatedly told residents not to panic, adding that while the measures are not clear, measures to control pollution have been taken.
At first, there were also concerns about finding traces of pathogens in raw chickens, but officials said there were multiple samples with negative shadows. Experts believe that if poultry carries pathogens, it may be after washing with water containing bacteria.
“It's a public health failure,” Dravid said. “We need to wake up.”
The city of Pune, India has reported dozens of cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome or GBS, a rare disease in which the body's immune system attacks its nerves and causes paralysis. Authorities say the outbreak is linked to pathogens in contaminated water.
The scope of the pandemic shows that India’s rapid development problem is a bigger problem, but is particularly acute in Pune, one of the fastest growing cities in the country, with many of them moving to the IT sector: Water purification facilities And doctors say other public health measures have not kept up with the pace of urbanization.
“Now the need to make public health more important,” Dravid said. In particular, Pune also saw record cases of dengue last year during a very wet monsoon season.
Mosquito-borne viral disease is also a major public health problem because it can lead to long-term health problems and its annual mortality rate is rising. Last year it was The worst recorded For global dengue cases.
As for GB, the recovery rate is high – usually about 95%, although the degree of recovery varies. But the complications are incurable and treatment is expensive.
The initial immune attack drives muscle weakness and paralysis, and GBS patients usually require time and a lot of physical therapy to repair nerve damage.
A large number of Dravid patients still have weaknesses in their limbs or symptoms such as tingling and numbness, while others use wheelchairs to avoid falling.
“That’s the real cost of this war, we fought last month.”
Long-term impact
Naik and her family feel the costs associated with her illness – she is still troubled by dual vision and inability to teach.
She temporarily lost her income while trying to recover. During her mother's sick leave, her mother moved into her house to help with daily tasks.
“[Our] “The reason the finances are in crisis is because treatment is very, very expensive,” Nak said. In late January, government hospitals rather than private hospitals.
She said she tried to keep a positive attitude for her 16-year-old daughter.
But most of the time, she and her family can use the vision and water state to feel anxious.
“I don't even dare to drink water or eat any fruit or vegetables. I don't know, is it safe?”
