By Sidhima Choudhary
Pune has reported over 100 cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), a rare neurological disorder, as of Monday, with 68 male and 33 female patients. Meanwhile, a suspected GBS-related death has been recorded in Solapur, Maharashtra.
The cases were seen in high numbers from areas like Nandoshi, Nanded, Dhayari, Singhad Road & Kirkatwadi and surrounding areas. According to the experts, the infection is most likely from contaminated water and unhygienic food. This led to the authorities testing the water where there were more cases reported.
The test reports of the water in Khadakwasla Dam which is considered the city’s main water reservoir, revealed higher E. Coli contamination, making it dirty and contaminated. The residents around there were advised to boil food and water before consumption.
Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) also conducted a survey. It hence issued an inspection report of the Parvati Water Treatment Centre, Singhad Road confirming the presence of contaminated water in the centre. Specific advisories were issued for the residents’ safety here too.
Residents of various affected areas raised concerns regarding the waste and sewage problems near the well which are primarily the least contaminated water. The residents also observed the poor infrastructure such as broken water pipelines to supply clean drinking water to the residents. This led them to depend on private water tankers and other dubious sources.
After considering the issue, PMC commenced house-to-house measures to mitigate the spread of GBS, in the start. The mitigating cure of the cases is also not economically feasible for a lot of people as each GBS injection costs Rs 20,000.
Citing the increased number of cases, Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra Deputy CM declared free treatment for the GBS patients. He further added, “The GBS patients residing in Pimpri Chinchwad will be treated at YCM Hospital, Pimpri Colony whereas the patients from PMC areas will get treatment at Kamla Nehru Hospital, Mangalwar Peth Pune. He further notified that the patients residing in rural areas will be provided free treatment at the Sassoon Hospital, Agarkar Nagar, Pune.