Guillain-Barré Syndrome: Father-Of-Two Who Died Amid Pune Outbreak ‘Never Ate Out, Had RO Filter At Home’
Chartered accountant Pravin Vibhute, 41, passed away on Monday, leaving behind his mother, younger brother Prashant, and wife and two daughters, aged 9 and 5.
Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS): Pravin Vibhute, 41 — the first reported fatality amid the ongoing Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) outbreak in Pune — “only ate home-cooked food and drank filtered water”, his family has said as they find themselves grappling with unanswered questions in the wake of his sudden death. While investigations continue to determine the cause of the GBS outbreak, it is suspected to be the result of water contamination.
Pravin Vibhute was a chartered accountant who was originally from Solapur but lived in Pune for work. He passed away on Monday, leaving behind his mother, younger brother Prashant, and wife and two daughters, aged 9 and 5.
“Eight to nine of our ‘mini families’ — all hailing from the same extended family in the Hattur village of Solapur — live in a housing complex in the Sinhagad area of Pune. We prefer home-cooked food,” said Prashant, adding that his brother developed GBS just before “we were to travel to our village, as we do every year, for Makar Sankranti, when a huge fair (yatra/jatra) is held at Hattur”.
On January 8 or 9, he said, Pravin developed dysentery and weakness. They were still in Pune at the time. “After taking medicines for the same, he felt better and we headed to Solapur as planned on 11th,” Prashant added. The festival passed in peace and Pravin seemed to be in normal health until January 17, when he reported difficulty swallowing, said Prashant. “His legs felt heavy to him, and his wife and her brother admitted him to Chaturthi Hospital,” Prashant said.
From there, things began going downhill fast. As his condition worsened, Pravin — by now unable to move his hands or legs — was shifted to Markandey hospital.
Moved to the ICU, he was diagnosed with GBS, an autoimmune disorder so rare that only one in a lakh people ever develop it. The outbreak in Pune has led to 111 cases so far (13 currently on ventilator).
Pravin Vibhute Was In ICU For 6 days
After six days in the ICU, Pravin briefly seemed to be making progress, and it was decided that he would be shifted to a private room. “I was with him at night throughout his hospital stay. In the daytime, his wife would take over,” said Prashant, an IT professional. One day, when Prashant had returned home, a call from the hospital informed him that his elder brother had developed breathing difficulty and needed to be shifted to the ICU again.
In the ICU, in the evening, despite oxygen support, his breathing difficulty worsened and the family was told that the doctors had decided to administer CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) to revive Pravin. “In a matter of another 20-30 minutes, we were told that all attempts to save him had failed,” Prashant said.
Talking about his brother, Prashant said the two brothers had studied against all odds to rise professionally. “You have no idea how huge a void my elder brother’s passing leaves,” Prashant added. “My widowed mother and my bhabhi, who is a housewife, are all in shock. He was the only earning member in his family, and his kids are so young.”
ALSO READ | Guillain-Barré Syndrome: How A Farmer With Severe GBS Went From Paralysis to Recovery
Pune On Alert
The three instructions issued by civic authorities for residents in the outbreak area (Pimpri-Chinchwad and Sinhagad) are:
1. Keep the water quality good. Drink boiled water.
2. Food should be fresh and clean. Avoid stale food.
3. Do not eat partially cooked food.
Prashant Vibhute said they would now boil water when they return to Pune, “but why would we have otherwise used boiled water to drink?” “We have water-purifying RO machines installed at home. We also do not eat outside,” Prashant said.
A rare clinical autopsy — apart from the usual medicolegal post-mortem exam — has been carried out on Pravin Vibhute’s body. A clinical autopsy is primarily meant for medical research, to further consolidate/affirm the cause of death or otherwise, and for academic purposes.
The results are expected to arrive in 3 weeks, said Dr Sanjiv Shamrao Thakur — dean of Dr Vaishampayan Memorial Government Medical College (VMGMC) in Maharashtra’s Solapur district, where the procedure was performed.
Prashant said his “brother is no more, but he has indirectly done this good deed”. “When the results arrive and doctors decipher what exactly is the trigger of this disease in this cluster — if that saves others’ lives — we would be happy,” he added.
The writer is a senior independent journalist.
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