West Bengal Friday recorded the fourth suspected death from the Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) this year.
The victim, Sk Khairul, 22, a resident of Suti in Murshidabad district, died at the RG Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
According to hospital sources, Khairul had recently visited Bihar’s Purnea for a job interview in a private hospital. He had fallen ill there and returned to Murshidabad.
When his condition deteriorated and symptoms of paralysis started to show, he was shifted to R G Kar Medical College and Hospital on February 15.
He was under treatment in the hospital when he died of heart failure triggered by GBS.
On January 27, the state recorded the first death suspected due to GBS this year. The victim was a 17-year-old student of Barasat PCS Government School and a resident of Tababeria village in North 24 Parganas. The patient succumbed at the state-run NRS Medical College Hospital in Kolkata. The second suspected GBS death was reported from Jagatdal in North 24 Parganas. The youth died on January 26, after undergoing treatment for a week at the BC Roy Hospital in the state capital. On January 29, a 48-year-old man in Dhaniakhali under Hooghly district allegedly succumbed to GBS.
Following the three fatalities, the state health department issued a directive to all government hospitals and medical colleges to establish the necessary infrastructure to manage and treat GBS cases. Guidelines were also issued on handling GBS cases.
According to sources, hospitals had been asked to ensure that medical assistance such as plasma therapy, ventilation support systems, and intravenous immunoglobulin injections were available. To ensure preparedness, two Critical Care Unit (CCU) beds in the Neurology department of all medical colleges in the city have been reserved exclusively for GBS cases. Two beds have also been allocated at the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit. Additionally, child specialists have been briefed on the symptoms of GBS in children, to enable timely identification and treatment.
The sources, however, stated stray cases of GBS are reported throughout the year and there was no need to panic.
The state health department has not yet officially confirmed the cause of the deaths.