Post-infectious Guillain–Barré syndrome during a cholera outbreak in Yemen: A pediatric case with confirmed Campylobacter exposure
Yemen's prolonged conflict and fragile healthcare infrastructure have created a setting where infectious diseases like cholera frequently overlap with under-recognized post-infectious autoimmune conditions. In this context, we report a pediatric case of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) following recent Campylobacter jejuni infection during a laboratory-confirmed cholera outbreak in rural Southern Yemen. The 12-year-old patient presented with acute flaccid paralysis and respiratory failure after a diarrheal illness consistent with cholera. Nerve conduction studies supported the GBS diagnosis, and advanced serological testing confirmed prior C. jejuni exposure with strong anti-GD1b IgG positivity. The case underscores the role of molecular mimicry in GBS pathogenesis, diagnostic challenges in low-resource settings, and the importance of international collaboration in confirming immune-mediated neurological diseases during simultaneous epidemics.
Authors
- Fathiah Zakham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2505-7217)
- Stefano Frasca
- Dirk Roggenbuck
- Abdullah Nasser
- Maryam Salem Awadh Bagnaf
- Wafaa Salem Ali Abdullah
- Faten Awadh Abdullah Salem
- Maram Tariq Said Saif
Institutions
- Hodeidah University (YE)
- Generic Assays (Germany) (DE)
- Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (DE)
- University of Aden (YE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- International Journal of Infectious Diseases
- Published
- 2025-12-24
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2025.108345
- Primary Topic
- Peripheral Neuropathies and Disorders
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00