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New Delhi: The country is grappling with rising cases of black fungus or mucormycosis even as efforts are on to control the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Over 7,000 black fungus cases have been reported from across the country as the patients continue to line up in various hospitals for treatment.
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Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Friday said there were 197 cases of black fungus in hospitals, including non-residents who have come to the city for treatment, across the national capital till Wednesday night.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had on Thursday said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government will declare black fungus an epidemic if the need arises.
Andhra Pradesh has so far reported 32 cases of mucormycosis, according to the state’s health department on Friday.
At least 10 cases of black fungus were reported from Chittoor district followed by Prakasam with six cases, Guntur four cases, West Godavari and Kadapa three each, Anantapuramu and Kurnool two each, Srikakulam and SPS Nellore one each.
In Gujarat, over 1,100 mucormycosis patients are undergoing treatment at government hospitals in four major cities of the state. Rajkot’s civil hospital has 450 patients with black fungus cases, Ahmedabad’s main civil hospital has 350 cases, around 110 patients in two state-run hospitals in Surat and around 225 patients are receiving treatment in the government hospitals in Vadodara.
Maharashtra’s Pune city reported over 300 cases of black fungus amid concerns over the supply of drugs needed for treatment.
The black fungus has so far claimed 13 lives in Uttar Pradesh
However, what appears to be more worrying is the cases of black fungus are now being reported from several other states, including Jharkhand, Karnataka, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Uttarakhand.
Taking a note of the secondary and opportunistic fungal infections which are getting amplified due to the present surge in Covid cases and mucormycosis becoming a cause of concern, the Union Ministry of Health has advised all states and Union Territories to review their preparedness for infection prevention and control as well as hygiene and sanitation in hospitals.
The Union Health Secretary has in his letter to the chief secretaries and administrators of all states and Union Territories urged them to undertake the following activities/practices to ensure there are robust infection prevention and control practices in Covid hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
The Centre had earlier asked all the state governments to declare black fungus an epidemic and list the infection under the “Epidemic Diseases Act”.
“In recent times a new challenge in the form of a fungal infection namely mucormycosis has emerged and is reported from many states among COVID-19 patients especially those on steroid therapy and deranged sugar control,” said Union Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal in a letter to the states, adding “this fungal infection is leading to prolonged morbidity and mortality among COVID-19 patients”.
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The Joint Secretary further said its treatment needs a multi-disciplinary approach, which includes eye surgeons, ENT specialists, general surgeons, neurosurgeons, dental facial surgeons and a special anti-fungal medicine, Amphotericin.
The governments of Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Odisha, Telangana, Assam and Uttar Pradesh have declared black fungus an epidemic.
Caused by a group of moulds called mucormycetes, mucormycosis is a rare fungal infection with symptoms such as face numbness, nose obstruction, swelling in the eye or cheeks and black dry crusts in the nose.
The cases of black fungus are being seen in some Covid patients, who were administered steroids to treat symptoms and particularly among those suffering from diabetes and cancer.
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