More than 100 cases of Guillain Barré syndrome have been reported in Lima and several other regions of the country, prompting the Health Ministry to issue a 90-day emergency health warning and increase the health services budget to cover treatment.
Three cases have been fatal, two in Piura and one in Trujillo on the north coast.
The National Institute of Neurological Sciences reported that the current cases show unusual and atypical features that require rapid and immediate treatment.
According to the minister of Health, Zulema Tomas, the report of cases is usual at this time of year when cases of influenza and bronchial infections increase. In 2018, the Health ministry reported 205 cases. Tomas said up to 300 cases may be expected this year.
Guillain-Barré syndrome, GBS, is a rare but serious autoimmune disorder that attacks the peripheral nervous system and leads to weakness, tingling and numbness initially in the limbs and expanding to the rest of the body, and can eventually cause paralysis.
Although the precise cause of the disease is unknown, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people who develop GBS do so several days or weeks after they have been sick with diarrhea or a respiratory illness. Although rare, some may develop the symptoms days or weeks after getting a vaccination.
Treatment consists of cleaning or immunizing the blood, according to Dr. Hugo Umeres of the Neurological Service at the Cayetano Heredia university hospital. One of the treatments is plasmapheresis, a procedure that removes the plasma from the blood and replaces it with other fluids. The treatment can cost up to $15,000, but the increased budget will allow all state hospitals to provide free treatment for GBS cases.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), symptoms last a few weeks and most cases recover without any serious or long-term complications.
The Health Ministry has emphasized that GBS is not contagious. It is a virus and the best prevention is to wash hands frequently, avoid street food and treat respiratory diseases promptly.
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So if this can be caused by vaccines, was there recently a mass vaccination event that happened in Peru?
Was there a mass vaccination event in Peru? Surely not a coincidence that something which is not contagious has become an “epidemic” and is happening to so many people in “influenza season” when GBS is a listed adverse effect of the flu vaccine!!!
This can RARELY be caused by an adverse reaction to the Flu-shot. It is more commonly developed from untreated respiratory infections. More likely there has been a highly contentious respiratory virus.
– I survived onset GBS and will live with the after effects for the rest of my life.