A rare, neurological disorder affected three women with the same career in Spokane, Washington over the last two years. All three were healthcare workers, so it would be easy to assume there must be a Typhoid Mary running around the Pacific Northwest infecting people by going to the hospital, but that’s not the case.
It is just a coincidence that all three women were diagnosed with Guillain-Barré over the course of a year and a half.
Guillain-Barré is a neurological syndrome caused by the immune system attacking the nervous system. Episodes that lead to diagnosis are usually preceded by an illness that weakens the immune system. Once recovered, the immune system is overactive, and, misidentifying nerve cells as foreign agents, attacks them with impunity.
Unlike multiple sclerosis, where the nervous system is repeatedly attacked, Guillain-Barré is a one-time offensive. It can be fatal if left untreated. However, with a timely diagnosis and proper treatment, there is little chance of serious effects.
One of the women’s diagnoses followed a bout with the flu approximately one month before her eventual diagnosis. Another woman started to feel weak after a flu shot.
Weakness and numbness in the extremities are some of the first signs of Guillain-Barré.
Incidents of this syndrome are not tracked like infectious diseases since they are not contagious. Similarly, the disorder is so rare that it is not one of the first things doctors think of when the symptoms are present. This leads to some misdiagnoses and unproductive treatments.
It can take months, or even years, to recover completely from an episode of Guillain-Barré, but recovery is possible. The trio in Washington are slowly but surely getting better. And they’d like you to know that awareness is really important. (HINT HINT)
Learn more about this unusual trio of cases in Spokane by clicking here.
