Guillain–Barré syndrome 'cause of concern' among fully vaccinated
New Delhi: Though vaccination has played a key role in bringing down the Covid-19 cases, some of the vaccinated people, who have taken both the shots of Covishield, are facing another problem of getting affected with Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS), which is a rare autoimmune disease.
The WHO's Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) subcommittee has also noted that rare cases of GBS have been reported following vaccinations with adenovirus vector Covid-19 vaccines.
The experts, who have treated GB syndrome cases, have suggested immediate reporting of the disease at nearest healthcare centre as delayed reporting may worsen the situation and it would become tough for the affected person to recover from the 'paralytic attack'.
The Indian Council of Medial Research (ICMR) has also approved a detailed study on GBS to find out the role of vaccination in occurrence of GBS and work out a management strategy of the rare disease, which is treatable if diagnosed at an early stage.
Giving details about the affects of GBS, Dr. Yudhvir Singh, who is assistant professor at AIIMS, said, "The affect of GB syndrome start affecting outr body system in ascending order. It starts affecting a person from bottom and reaches at the top of the body by making some of the body parts paralytic. The upper limb of the person stops responding. At the last, it affects respiratory systems of the body and the GBS patient faces difficulty in breathing."
"It has been observed that GBS patients first report fever then cough and cold then diarrhoea and finally severe weakness. There are 7-8 types of GBS and there is no no absolute test to establish a diagnosis of the disease," said Singh, who works at the department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care at the premier institute.
The treatment of GBS is very costly. The treatment cost of adult patients would fall around Rs 4-Rs 4 lakh while the children get treated between Rs 70,000 to Rs 1 lakh and improved in children is very fast in comparison to adult patients, the AIIMS doctor said, adding that its treatment is generally time-taking, but the signs of improvement start appearing in 3-5 days.
The most commonly used treatment for GB syndrome is intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), which is costly and available at most of the public as well as private the healthcare centres.
According to WHO, GBS is a rare immune system disorder that results in muscle weakness, pain or numbness, and, in more severe cases, paralysis. "GBS could result from different causes, including infections, and occurs more frequently in males and persons over 50 years old. Cases may occur coincidentally following vaccination," the WHO had stated in its statement.
