2023-07-12 04:50:18
Due to an unusual backlog of cases of a very rare neurological disease, the government of Peru has declared a health emergency of three months. Since January, 182 cases of the so-calledGuillain Barre syndrome in the country, according to the Ministry of Health. Four of those affected have died. 31 patients remain hospitalized and the remaining 147 have been discharged.
“Guillain-Barré syndrome is a neurological disease in which damage occurs to the auxiliary structures of the peripheral nerves, which are accompanied by ascending paralysis and can endanger life, because in some cases they are involved respiratory muscles,” says Dr. Peter Berlit, president of the German Neurological Society (DGN), in an interview with DW. The special thing regarding this rare disease, according to the neurologist, is that the immune system turns once morest its own body, which it is supposed to protect.
“Normally, Guillain-Barré syndrome occurs following an infection, which can be bacterial or viral. The body forms antibodies once morest this infection, and if there are more antibodies than necessary to fight the pathogen, then some of these antibodies have the unpleasant peculiarity of targeting components of the nerve pathways and thus causing inflammation and damage”, explains the expert.
So the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its own nervous system. The affected peripheral nerves are those that transmit signals from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body.
not contagious
This Monday, the Government of Ecuador announced that it maintains an epidemiological surveillance process active, especially in the border area with Peru. The objective is to identify cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, provide immediate medical attention and find out the possible origin of this disease.
Despite the fact that the cause of the disease remains a mystery, expert Peter Berlit tries to calm: “Guillain-Barré syndrome is not a contagious disease, however, what is usually contagious are the diseases that trigger it. “
Cases increased in Peru during the 2019 outbreak as well. Image: Martin Mejia/AP/picture-alliance
In many cases the disease has been observed to occur shortly following a viral or bacterial infection, such as a respiratory or gastrointestinal infection. It has also been associated with certain viruses, including the Epstein-Barr virus, the influenza virus, and the Zika virus.
Previous outbreaks in Latin America
Guillain-Barré syndrome is a global disease and can appear anywhere in the world. One of the most notable outbreaks occurred in Brazil in 2015, during the Zika virus outbreak. Peru itself saw a larger outbreak in 2019. In French Polynesia, an outbreak of Guillain-Barré syndrome cases followed a wave of Zika infections in 2013/14. There has also been an increase in cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome following infections with the coronavirus.
However, the most likely cause of the 2019 outbreak in Peru was the consumption of food infected with the bacterium “campylobacter jejuni”, among other gastrointestinal pathogens.
The President of the German Neurological Society stresses: “Campylobacter jejuni is one of the most important and frequent triggers of Guillain-Barré syndrome worldwide. Also in Germany, the USA and other countries. If these infections by campylobacter occur more frequently, for example due to some kind of hygiene deficiency, the risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome also increases.”
How common is the disease?
According to Peter Berlit, this rare nervous disease occurs in Europe and the US with an approximate incidence of one to two cases per 100,000 inhabitants. In the case of outbreaks of gastrointestinal infections, this number increases considerably.
The chances of recovery from Guillain-Barré syndrome are good, says Berlit, but “there are also severe courses, in which all four limbs are paralyzed and the respiratory muscles may also be affected, so that patients have to be admitted to the intensive care unit and have to undergo artificial respiration with all the associated risks.
Then it is necessary to quickly find out which pathogen is responsible for the increase in cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome. This is the task that Peru’s health authorities now face.
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