Peru is in a state of health emergency in the face of an epidemic of Guillain-Barre syndrome

Saturday, July 8, Peru declared a ninety-day state of health emergency. the reason ? A fivefold increase in recent weeks in the number of cases of a usually rare neurological disease, Guillain-Barre syndrome, which in the worst case can lead to death. Since the beginning of the year, nearly 200 cases have been reported in the country, including 96 in the past four weeks. Four people have died and 31 people remain in intensive care, according to data from the Peruvian Ministry of Health.

Guillain-Barré syndrome is caused by a defect in the immune system that attacks peripheral nerves by destroying the myelin sheath that surrounds them. It results in muscle weakness that can lead to paralysis of the extremities, or even breathing difficulties when the chest muscles are affected.. “ One in three patients will need respiratory assistance », F explains^s Nicholas Weiss, a neurologist at…