Health experts dispel fears over GBS being contagious

Hyderabad: The health experts have said that the Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) was not a contagious disease and that it has been there for ages.

The Telangana Medical Council member Dr Pratibha Lakshmi said that this was not a new virus. It has been there for ages. It has been 110 year since it was named Guillain Barre Syndrome. “It generally affects two out of one lakh. Every year 800 cases are reported in Telangana. We have been seeing the GBS cases while we were studying,” said Dr Pratibha Lakshmi.

Explaining the symptoms and nature of the disease, Dr Lakshmi said that after infection, when the body is infected, the immune system gets active to fight against the virus. “If mistakenly it forgets the body cells, these GBS symptoms come in. This can be with many viruses and also with a few with bacteria. In some circumstances, the GBS are reported because of some vaccines. In this case in Pune, food poisoning cases reported because of Campylobacter Jejuni bacteria. There were 130 cases including one death was also reported. It is appearing as a new disease but it is not a new virus. The GBS can come with different types of virus after four to eight weeks of infection. The symptoms include weakening of hands and legs, hands go numb, patient feel unable to get up, difficulties in swallowing food, early treatment is better otherwise there is not treatment available,” said Dr Pratibha, adding there was no need for fear as incidents are less and there was no need for panic.

A senior paediatrician Dr Sivaranjani Santosh also said that this was not a contagious disease. She said that it has been there for ages. “If we see any cluster of cases in a particular area, it makes sense to report. Reporting a sporadic case as breaking news is just fear mongering,” said Dr Santosh.