Peru’s Guillain-Barré syndrome emergency low risk to Brazil
Brazil’s Ministry of Health reported Tuesday (Jul. 11) it is currently monitoring the health emergency caused by Guillain-Barré Syndrome in Peru. The authorities noted that the disease cannot be transmitted from person to person and therefore represents low risk for Brazil.
Last Saturday (Jul. 8), Peru declared an emergency situation at national level for 90 days over a spike in cases of the disease. When the alert was issued, 182 cases had been recorded in 2023. Of these, 31 patients were hospitalized, 147 were released from hospital, and four died from it.
Peru borders a large section of Acre and Amazonas states, in North Brazil. There is “no need to restrict tourism, trade, or people moving around” a note sent to Agência Brasil Tuesday (11) reads.
Guillain-Barré syndrome
The Brazilian Ministry of Health notes that the Guillain-Barré Syndrome is a relatively uncommon autoimmune condition affecting the peripheral nervous system. It can be triggered by a number of factors but three out of four cases stem from an infectious process.
In Brazil, cases do not have to be officially notified, but epidemic outbreaks are monitored. In 2015, the country registered an outbreak of the disease in Bahia state.
Both bacteria and viruses can cause the condition, and its symptoms of may appear in the acute phase of an infection or after patients recover. Some cases have been associated with diarrhea-causing bacteria and viral infections, including dengue, Zika, Chikungunya, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr, measles, influenza A, enterovirus D68, hepatitis A, B and C, and HIV.
In Peru, the disease had previously had an outbreak in 2019, with 900 cases. Back then, the illness was associated with the Campylobacter jejuni bacterium, which causes diarrhea. In 2020, 448 cases were recorded, compared to 210 in 2021, and 225 in 2022. Thus far, no information is available on the infectious agent in the current outbreak facing Peru.
