PUNE, 11 FEB

A 37-year-old driver diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) has succumbed to the illness at a Pune hospital, raising the death toll linked to the nerve disorder to seven. Recent reports indicate that the suspected GBS cases in the region have risen to 192, following the identification of eight new infections. Confirmed cases stand at 167, with 21 patients currently requiring ventilator support.

According to a Pune civic health official, the deceased had initially presented with weakness in his lower limbs and was brought to a local hospital. However, he was taken to Nipani in Karnataka on 1 February by family members. He was subsequently admitted to a hospital in Sangli, where he received intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg), a common treatment for GBS.

On 5 February, after being discharged against medical advice from the Sangli hospital, he was admitted to the ICU at Kamala Nehru Hospital, run by the Pune Municipal Corporation. During treatment, he experienced a heart rhythm disorder known as supra-ventricular tachycardia and ultimately suffered a cardiac arrest on 9 February.