PUBLIC HEALTH IMAGE LIBRARY, JAMES GATHANY, CDC
Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Suriname, and Venezuela are all reporting an uptick in the number of people diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), which can cause temporary but nearly complete paralysis. Health officials suspect Zika virus infection may be related to this surge in GBS cases.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO)’s February 12 Zika Situation Report, some of the patients had been infected with the virus. During the 2013-2014 Zika outbreak in French Polynesia, all 42 patients with GBS tested positive for dengue and Zika infections.
“The cause of the increase in GBS incidence observed in Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador and Suriname remains unknown, especially as dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus have all been circulating simultaneously in the Americas,” the WHO report stated.
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