The West Bengal health department sources on Wednesday confirmed that two people— a 10-year-old and the other a 17-year-old — have died of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) in the state so far.

According to sources, the 10-year-old child was admitted to a Kolkata hospital and 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, 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.

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.

The deaths due to GBS in Kolkata come on the heels of an outbreak of the Guillain-Barré Syndrome in Pune. On Monday, Maharashtra health minister Prakash Abitkar said the likely causes behind the outbreak in Pune are contaminated water sources.