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Presence of Campylobacter jejuni in samples of suspected GBS patients: NIV Pune

ByVicky Pathare
Jan 24, 2025 08:10 AM IST

Pune district, since January this year, has reported an unusual surge in suspected GBS patients. Till date, 67 cases, including 39 in Pune Rural, 13 in PMC, 12 in PCMC limits and three outstation patients have been reported

Experts at the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV) on Thursday confirmed the presence of Campylobacter jejuni in samples of suspected Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) patients undergoing treatment in city hospitals. Campylobacter jejuni is a common bacterial infection that can trigger GBS, a rare neurological disorder, said officials.

Blood samples of 23 patients tested negative for chikungunya, dengue and zika viruses. Nine faecal samples tested positive for norovirus. Norovirus causes gastroenteritis with vomiting and diarrhoea and can trigger GBS in extremely rare cases, said officials. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)
Blood samples of 23 patients tested negative for chikungunya, dengue and zika viruses. Nine faecal samples tested positive for norovirus. Norovirus causes gastroenteritis with vomiting and diarrhoea and can trigger GBS in extremely rare cases, said officials. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

Pune district, since January this year, has reported an unusual surge in suspected GBS patients. Till date, 67 cases, including 39 in Pune Rural, 13 in Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), 12 in Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) limits and three outstation patients have been reported.

“PMC on Tuesday sent blood, urine and faecal samples of 23 suspected cases to ICMR-NIV for testing and three showed presence of Campylobacter jejuni in the results releases on Thursday,” said a senior civic official on condition of anonymity.

“Results of three samples will be released soon,” stated NIV officials in the report to PMC.

Blood samples of 23 patients tested negative for chikungunya, dengue and zika viruses. Nine faecal samples tested positive for norovirus. Norovirus causes gastroenteritis with vomiting and diarrhoea and can trigger GBS in extremely rare cases, said officials.

While samples of three suspected GBS patients undergoing treatment at Poona Hospital tested positive for Campylobacter jejuni, results of two more cases from private hospital turned positive on Thursday. The tests were carried out at a private lab.

Dr Ameet Dravid, infectious diseases expert at Poona Hospital, said, “This bacterial infection triggers GBS in one out of thousand cases. Such large number of GBS cases means there are thousands of patients suffering from diarrhoea in the city. There is an immediate need to conduct genome sequencing to ascertain if Campylobacter jejuni has developed resistance towards the regular chlorination process carried out by PMC to eliminate harmful bacteria in water. Tests have to be conducted to check if the bacteria have mutated or developed resistance to current drug available for treatment,” he said.

Dr Babita Kamlapurkar, joint director of health services, Maharashtra, said, “The infection is caused due to contaminated water or food. Citizens should not panic and take precautionary measures, including boiling drinking water, avoid unhygienic food and follow good hand hygiene.”

According to doctors, a cluster of suspected cases of GBS, which can follow Campylobacter jejuni infection, was identified in San Luis Río Colorado (SLRC), Sonora, Mexico and Yuma County, Arizona, USA in June 2011. GBS is a rare condition that causes nerve damage. The symptoms include muscle weakness, tingling, and sometimes paralysis. Campylobacter infection is one of the most common causes of GBS in the US, officials said.

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