NEW DELHI, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Eight people have died of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) in India's southwestern state of Maharashtra over the past couple of weeks, confirmed a state health official on Wednesday.
The latest casualty was a 53-year-old male patient who died in a hospital in the state capital Mumbai. This was the first such death reported from Mumbai.
The rest of the deaths took place in Maharashtra's Pune city and its surrounding areas. The male patient who died in Mumbai had a recent travel history to Pune, confirmed the official.
GBS is a rare condition in which a person's immune system attacks the peripheral nerves, resulting in muscle weakness, loss of sensation in the legs and/or arms, as well as problems in swallowing or breathing.
According to official figures, there were around 200 confirmed GBS cases in Pune and its surrounding areas.
Last month, the country's federal government sent a high-level multi-disciplinary team comprising seven experts to Pune to support the state's health authorities in instituting public health interventions and management in view of the spurt in suspected and confirmed cases of GBS in Pune.
The team was working closely with the Maharashtra state health department, taking stock of the on-ground situation and recommending necessary public health interventions. ■
