After the outbreak of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), a post infectious neurological disease which has already affected more than 100 people in Pune in Maharashtra, the West Bengal Health Department sources on Wednesday confirmed that two youths — a 10-year-old and the other a 17-year-old — have died of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) in the State so far. Meanwhile, the West Bengal Health and Family Welfare Department has said that the cases have not increased since the end of December 2024.
Health Department sources said that a 10-year-old boy was admitted to a Kolkata hospital last week. He had died while undergoing treatment on Sunday. Hailing from Jagatdal of North 24 Parganas district, he was undergoing treatment at the BC Roy Hospital for a week before he died. Meanwhile, Aritra Mondal, a 17-year-old youth from the North 24 Parganas district, who showed symptoms of the syndrome, died at the NRS Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on Monday morning.
According to hospital sources, the teenager died of septic shock and myocarditis, with doctors suspecting that GBS may have been the underlying condition. Investigations are ongoing to confirm the exact cause of death in this case. Mandal was a resident of Amdanga in North 24 Parganas district. The death certificate mentions Guillain Barré Syndrome as the suspected cause of death. On Wednesday, a 48-year-old man from Dhaniakhali, Hooghly was suspected to have also died of the Guillain-Barré Syndrome. He had visited his local doctor in Dhaniakhali, and upon describing his symptoms, was immediately asked to be brought to Kolkata Medical College.
He had been suffering from diarrhoea for the past four days and the lower portion of his body was paralysed. The patient was administered oxygen while on the way to the hospital due to respiratory issues, medical college sources said. However, he was declared dead on arrival. This came amid the State Health Department’s claim that there was no rise in the cases of GBS from the end of December till January 28. The West Bengal Health and Family Welfare Department issued an official statement which reads: “Guillain-Barré Syndrome is not a new or rare kind of disease. Sporadic cases continue to occur in our country and state. It is one of the diseases causing Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) which is monitored in children below the age of 15 years as a part of Polio Surveillance. Got the information from NPSP (WHO) that there has been no increase of AFP or GB Syndrome in West Bengal since the end of December till date.”