As Zika Spread, Paralyzing Guillain-Barré Syndrome Skyrocketed

 

by Maggie Fox

There's more evidence that Zika virus infection can cause a paralyzing side effect called Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Instances of Guillain-Barré skyrocketed in countries hit by Zika virus epidemics — by as much as 877 percent in Venezuela, health officials and researchers from Latin America reported. At the very least, rates doubled, the officials said in a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine.

"During the weeks of Zika virus transmission, there were significant increases in the incidence of the Guillain-Barré syndrome, as compared with the pre-Zika virus baseline incidence, in (Brazil's) Bahia State (an increase of 172 percent), Colombia (211 percent), the Dominican Republic (150 percent), El Salvador (100 percent), Honduras (144 percent), Suriname (400 percent), and Venezuela (877 percent)," they wrote. "When the incidence of Zika virus disease increased, so did the incidence of the Guillain-Barré syndrome." 

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Source: NBC News