Peru has been inundated by a mystery wave of a paralysis-causing illness, prompting officials to declare a national health emergency.
There have been 231 cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) since the start of this year – more than half of which occurred in a narrow five-week span from early June to mid-July.
The majority of patients suffered a progressive form of paralysis that starts in the feet and legs and slowly moves upward toward the torso and upper extremities.
Patient samples taken by Peruvian health officials during the five-week-peak found a bacteria common in contaminated food and water, Campylobacter jejuni, which was also deemed responsible for a similar GBS outbreak in Peru four years ago.
While GBS can be devastating, it is rarely fatal and is not transmitted between people in the same way that a viral flu or bacteria would, though the government was swift to implement a national state of emergency mobilizing medical resources to go to Peru’s 25 distinct regions.