Pune driver latest GBS fatality, toll rises to seven; confirmed case tally 167

Pune: A 37-year-old driver from Pune, diagnosed with rare nerve disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), has died in a city hospital during treatment, health officials said on Monday.

The latest fatality took the toll of suspected and confirmed deaths linked to GBS in Pune to seven.

Meanwhile, the number of suspected GBS cases rose to 192 after eight more infections were recorded. The tally of confirmed cases is 167, while 21 patients are on ventilator support.

"The deceased worked as a driver in Pune. He was initially brought to a city-based hospital following complaints of weakness in the lower limbs," Pune civic health officials said.

His relatives didn't admit him to Pune hospital and instead took him to Nipani in Karnataka on February 1.

He was subsequently admitted to a Sangli-based hospital by his relatives where he was administered IVIG injections, a treatment for GBS, they said.

"On February 5, the relatives of the patient took a discharge against the medical advice (from Sangli) and admitted him in the ICU of Pune municipal corporation-run Kamala Nehru Hospital on the same day, according to the officials.

He suffered supra-ventricular tachycardia, a heart rhythm disorder during treatment.

"He suffered a cardiac arrest on February 9 and died," the officials added.

Officials said of the 192 suspected cases, 167 patients were diagnosed with GBS.

Among 192 cases, 39 patients are from Pune municipal corporation areas, 91 are from newly-added villages in the civic area, 29 from Pimpri Chinchwad civic body, 25 are from Pune rural region and eight are from other districts.

Among these cases, 91 patients have been discharged till now, 48 are in ICU, and 21 are on a ventilator," according to the release from the state health department.