LIMA ― The Peruvian government issued an epidemiological alert due to the increase in cases in several regions of the country in recent weeks of Guillain Barré Syndrome (GBS), an autoimmune disease caused by previous infections.
According to the National Center for Epidemiology, Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), attached to the Ministry of Health, 108 people have been reported with this disease so far in 2023. Lima, La Libertad, Piura, Cajamarca, Junín, Cusco and Callao are the most affected cities.
The last time there was a high incidence of patients with Guillain Barré Syndrome was in 2019, when there was an outbreak that left 900 cases. This number dropped to 448 for 2020, then to 210 in 2021, and 225 cases were registered last year.
Given this scenario, it was ordered that epidemiological surveillance, prevention and response be reinforced in the country’s private and public health establishments to avoid an overflow of cases similar to the dengue virus that continues to haunt northern Peru.
The epidemiology authorities seek to identify previous infections “or other possible triggers for the neurological picture,” including respiratory infections, acute diarrhea, arbovirosis infection, among others, reported the CDC.
What is Guillain Barré Syndrome?
Guillain Barré syndrome is an autoimmune disease that includes a group of neuropathies and is characterized by progressive muscle weakness and decreased or absent reflexes, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The former Minister of Health, Fernando Carbone, pointed out that this disease is not contagious.
“It is not transmitted, but it is a reaction of the body itself against oneself due to having had a previous infectious problem that can be very diverse,” he explained to the VOA.
He added that not much is still known about the origin of this disease, but stressed that it is a “neurological problem that can cause weakness and tingling in the hands and feet that could spread over time to the entire body.”
Carbone pointed out that most cases, even the most severe, make a full recovery, although some continue to show weakness. However, she mentioned that there are also patients who lose their lives due to complications such as paralysis of the respiratory muscles, sepsis, pulmonary thrombosis or cardiac arrest.
Measures and consequences
The expert pointed out that although Guillain Barré Syndrome is not contagious, the epidemiological alert decreed by the Government serves “to take preventive actions given the nature of this disease and reinforce the capacities of the health system that allow care for the entire population.” .
“The first thing is that hospitals have enough intensive care units, that they have supplies such as respirators that help people whose respiratory systems are compromised, and intravenous immunoglobulins, which are essential for the treatment of the patient who must eliminate autoantibodies,” he said.
Until May 2023, there were 28 of 53 hospitals throughout the country that did not have immunoglobulin, according to data from the National Center for the Supply of Strategic Health Resources (Cenares).
The injectable is available in seven hospital pharmacies in the country, according to the Peruvian Observatory of Pharmaceutical Products of the General Directorate of Medicines, Supplies and Drugs (Digemid).
Carbone added that “people who had viral and bacterial diseases such as the coronavirus and dengue have a high possibility of contracting Guillain Barré Syndrome because their immune systems were weakened and they were left with sequelae that they still have to overcome with specialized treatments.”
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