Fatal Apathy

A year ago, few in Maharashtra would have associated Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) with a public health emergency. Today, with over 200 cases in Pune and the first fatality in Mumbai, it is clear that the state government and civic authorities have been caught napping. This rare but dangerous neurological disorder has claimed eight lives so far, yet there is little urgency in the administration’s response. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Maharashtra government have downplayed the crisis, hiding behind bureaucratic semantics instead of acting decisively.

The death of a 53-year-old civic hospital employee in Mumbai should have been a wake-up call. The man, who had travelled to Pune just weeks before falling ill, succumbed to GBS complications despite intensive care. His case raises disturbing questions about whether the outbreak in Pune is spreading. Yet, rather than launching a comprehensive epidemiological investigation, the BMC has merely stated it is examining the possibility of a link. Such complacency is precisely what allowed the situation in Pune to spiral out of control.

The crisis in Pune is a textbook example of how neglected urban infrastructure fuels public health disasters. The areas worst affected by the outbreak, notably villages near the Khadakwasla Dam that were recently incorporated into the Pune Municipal Corporation, lack basic sanitation. Tests confirm Campylobacter jejuni and norovirus, both linked to GBS. Meanwhile, unchecked urban sprawl in Pimpri-Chinchwad has led to borewells perilously close to septic tanks, heightening contamination risks.

Despite clear evidence of waterborne pathogens driving the outbreak, the government response has been sluggish. Instead of emergency measures to ensure safe drinking water, officials have offered vague promises of monitoring the situation. There has been no systematic effort to provide residents with potable water, upgrade drainage systems or enforce hygiene regulations in affected areas. Even basic public advisories about boiling water and maintaining hygiene have been lacklustre.

If Maharashtra’s civic bodies do not act swiftly, other cities, including Mumbai, could see similar outbreaks. GBS itself is not contagious, but the bacterial and viral infections that trigger it spread easily in the absence of proper sanitation. Poor drainage systems, broken pipelines and unchecked sewage disposal create the perfect breeding ground for these infections.

The Maharashtra government must stop treating GBS as an isolated medical anomaly and recognize it as a symptom of a broader infrastructure failure. First, an immediate overhaul of water sanitation in affected areas is needed. The state health department must launch an aggressive surveillance program to detect new cases early and prevent further escalation. Hospitals must be equipped to handle severe GBS cases.

Public health crises demand swift and decisive action. Maharashtra’s leaders, however, seem more interested in damage control than disease control. The longer they wait, the greater the risk of GBS cases multiplying. And if the government continues to dither, it will have no one but itself to blame for the next fatality.