3 die of suspected Guillain-Barre Syndrome in West Bengal

Three persons, including a child, have died due to suspected Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) in West Bengal in the past few days, though the state health department is yet to officially confirm the cause of the deaths.

All three persons died in government hospitals in Kolkata and Hooghly district.

A senior health department official said, “The situation in West Bengal is absolutely under control and there is nothing to panic about.”

The three deceased were identified as Debkumar Sahu (10) of Jagaddal in North 24 Parganas district, Aritra Manal (17) from Amdanga in the same district and another 48-year-old man in Dhaniakhali village in Hooghly district, sources said.

Family members of the three claimed that they died of suspected GBS, an immunological nerve disorder.

Debkumar died at the BC Roy Hospital in Kolkata on January 26 while the teenager from Amdanga, who was undergoing treatment at the NRS Medical College and Hospital in the city, died the next day, they said.

The man from Hooghly district died on Wednesday in a hospital there.

“The hospital told us that the condition of Debkumar kept on deteriorating while being treated. They did not tell us that the cause of his death was GB syndrome, but in the death certificate the suspected GB syndrome was mentioned,” the boy’s uncle Govinda Sahu said.

Meanwhile, four more children suffering from suspected GB syndrome were undergoing treatment at the BC Roy Hospital and Institute of Child Health, the sources said.

GBS is a rare condition that causes sudden numbness and muscle weakness, with symptoms including severe weakness in the limbs and loose motion. Bacterial and viral infections generally lead to GBS as they weaken the immunity of patients, as per doctors.