Guillain-Barre Syndrome: Drinking water has zero chlorine, say officials

GBS is a rare condition that causes sudden numbness and muscle weakness, with symptoms including severe weakness in the limbs

Pune: A water quality survey held around Nanded village, the epicentre of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) in Pune city, has found there was lack of chlorine in the drinking water supplied to households of 26 patients of this nerve disorder, officials said.

GBS is a rare condition that causes sudden numbness and muscle weakness, with symptoms including severe weakness in the limbs. On Tuesday, three fresh cases of GBS were reported in Maharashtra’s Pune city, taking the overall tally to 166, they said.

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Officials of the Rapid Response Team (RRT), formed to probe the outbreak of the GBS cases in Nanded and adjoining localities in Sinhagad Road area, said there were 77 GBS patients in Nanded. Of them, the households of 62 patients were visited to take the drinking water samples.

The findings of the house-to-house survey about the lack of chlorine in drinking water were discussed in the RRT’s meeting. Experts have now urged the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) water supply department to take immediate action to maintain a chlorine level of 0.2 ppm (parts per million) in the household water supply to ensure public health safety.

“While water at the source (well) was found to be adequately purified with sufficient chlorine levels, zero chlorine was detected in households of 26 patients out of 62,” an RRT member said.

Last week, Maharashtra Health Minister Prakash Abitkar said 80 per cent of the suspected GBS cases in Pune have been reported from areas located around a mega well in Nanded.

He had noted that high number of cases in certain areas appeared to be linked to suspected water contamination. When contacted, PMC’s water supply department head Nandkishor Jagtap said the water from the well (in Nanded, which supplies to four to five villages) is adequately purified with sufficient chlorine levels.

“The reasons for zero level of chlorine level could be that the households must be sourcing water from other sources, such as private tankers or non-cleaning of overhead water tanks at the residential society or individual household,” he said. There is another reason that if the water is stored in large quantities, the levels of chlorine could go volatile, the official said.