In view of the unusual accumulation of a very rare nervous disease, Peru has declared a health emergency. According to the government, this should apply for three months.
Peru’s government has declared a public health emergency after an unusual spike in cases of a mental illness. “Due to the unusual increase in cases of the so-called Guillain-Barré syndrome, the national health emergency has been declared for 90 days,” said the Peruvian Ministry of Health.
According to the authority, 182 cases of the syndrome have been recorded in the South American country since January. All 25 regions of the Andean country with a total of around 33 million inhabitants are affected.
Fatal consequences for those affected
Four of those affected died. 31 patients are still in the hospital, the remaining 147 have been released.
In the past few weeks there has been a high increase in cases, “which is forcing us to take measures at state level to protect the health and life of the population,” Health Minister Cesar Vasquez told journalists.
The declaration of a health emergency therefore enables the purchase of immunoglobulins for the treatment of affected people over the next two years.
neurological disease
Guillain-Barré Syndrome is a neurological disorder. It often begins with tingling and numbness – and can lead to muscle weakness and paralysis.
Nerves are damaged by an excessive autoimmune reaction, so that they can no longer transmit stimuli. Muscle weakness usually worsens within two to four weeks and can affect the respiratory system.
The syndrome is usually preceded by upper respiratory or gastrointestinal disease, such as infection with Campylobacter bacteria. Dengue and Zika viruses can also be triggers. Usually it remains in isolated cases, outbreaks are rare.
disease is nothing new
A major wave of Guillain-Barré syndrome was recorded in Peru in 2019. From May 20 to July 27, 683 suspected or confirmed GBS cases were identified, according to a 2020 analysis presented in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
In French Polynesia, a spike in Guillain-Barré syndrome cases followed a wave of Zika infections in 2013 and 2014.
Reasons for increase unclear
“We currently have the disease under control,” Peru’s Health Minister Cesar Vasquez told reporters. However, since there has been a significant increase in cases in recent weeks, it has become necessary to act.
There was initially no information on the reasons for the increase. The declaration of emergency will ensure that sufficient drugs to treat the syndrome are made available to the hospitals, it said.
In addition, the epidemiological surveillance will be intensified and the reference laboratories for the analysis of samples will be strengthened.