Pune’s health minister suggests contaminated water may be behind a Guillain-Barré syndrome outbreak, with urgent actions underway to address the issue
Right now, 17 patients are on ventilators, and 7 have been sent home. There are 111 suspected cases in the hospital, and sadly, one person has died in Solapur. The minister mentioned that many of these patients come from the same area, which raises red flags about the water quality.
To tackle this, the Pune Municipal Corporation is jumping into action. They’re fixing leaks, replacing broken drainage lines, and keeping a close eye on water quality. So far, they’ve repaired 12 leaks and are checking water from private tankers. They’re also testing around 180 water samples and have surveyed over 65,000 residents in the affected areas.
Shekhar Singh, the Commissioner of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, said they’ve doubled the number of water samples being tested. They’re also checking out bottling plants and private wells to make sure the water is safe.
The state government is stepping up too, making sure there are enough ventilators and medicines in hospitals. The health minister reassured everyone that they’re working to prevent hospitals from overcharging patients and encouraged folks to go to empanelled hospitals for treatment.
Residents are being told to boil their water before drinking it. The state is also working on a standard protocol for water treatment and monitoring. This focused response aims to get the outbreak under control and improve water quality to stop this from happening again.
