MUMBAI, 12 FEB

A 53-year-old man has died of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) at a hospital in Mumbai, the first fatality here due to the nerve disorder, officials said on Wednesday.

The patient, resident of Wadala area and working as a ward boy in a hospital, had a fortnight ago visited Pune which has witnessed the GBS outbreak, they said.

He was admitted to a hospital here on 23 January. He was in a critical condition for several days and died on Tuesday, the officials said.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner and its state-appointed administrator Bhushan Gagrani confirmed to PTI that it is the first death in the metropolis due to the GBS.

Mumbai reported its first case of GBS on 7 February after a 64-year-old woman, resident of Andheri (East), was diagnosed with the nerve disorder, officials earlier said.

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 swallowing or breathing.