Is the black fungus reaching an epidemic proportion

New Delhi, May 20: Mucormycosis (black fungus), which is primarily affecting people recovering from COVID, has been declared an epidemic in Rajasthan, officials said.

Currently, the state has around 100 black fungus patients and a separate ward has been made at Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in Jaipur for their treatment.

Mucormycosis has been notified as an epidemic and a notifiable disease in the state under the Rajasthan Epidemic Act 2020, according to a notification issued by state''s Principal Health Secretary Akhil Arora.

He said the step was taken to ensure integrated and coordinated treatment of black fungus and the coronavirus.

According to experts, people with diabetes are more prone to getting the black fungus infection.

Telangana:

The Telangana government has declared Black Fungus (mucormycosis) a disease that is primarily affecting COVID-19 recovered patients as notifiable disease under Epidemic Diseases Act 1897, an official notification said on Thursday.

All government and private health facilities shall follow guidelines for screening, diagnosis and management of Black Fungus by the union health ministry and Indian Council of Medical Research, it said.

"It is also made mandatory for all government and private health facilities to report all suspected and confirmed cases to Health Department," the notification said.

Medical Superintendents of all government and private hospitals shall ensure strict compliance and send reports on a daily basis attached in the form of annexure to the health Department, it added.

A senior official of the Health department on Tuesday said the state has about 80 cases of Black Fungus under treatment in both government and private hospitals.

The government has designated the Gandhi General Hospital and state-run ENT Hospital as nodal centers for the treatment of Black Fungus.

Mangaluru:

Seven patients being treated for Covid-19 at the Kasturba Medical College (KMC) hospital at Manipal have been infected with black fungus (mucormycosis), Udupi district health officer (DHO) Sudhir Chandra Sooda has said.

Five women and two men are currently receiving treatment for the infection.

The patients also have uncontrolled diabetes, Sooda told reporters on Wednesday.

The patients, who were admitted to KMC for treatment of various health issues, had earlier tested positive for Covid-19.

They are from Chitradurga, Dharwad, Harihara, Davanagere, Shivamogga, Ranebennuru and Koppala.
No case of black fungus has been reported in Udupi district, he said

Assam:

A COVID-19 recovered patient died of black fungus infection, the first such case reported in Assam, at a private hospital in Guwahati on Wednesday, officials said.

The 27-year-old male patient was admitted to the hospital on May 16 in a critical condition and he had all the symptoms of black fungus infection, the hospital said in a statement.

It said that the person hailing from Nagaon district had diabetes and tested positive for COVID-19 on May 6, following which he was admitted to a Covid care centre in the district.

"Subsequently, he tested Rapid Antigen Test negative on 12th May 2021 and was discharged from the centre. From 15th May 2021, he developed decreased vision in both eyes and other post-Covid complications at his home," the statement said.

The patient was brought to the emergency of the hospitals on May 16 "in a very critical state" and was admitted in the ICU.

"In spite of the best efforts by the clinical team, the patient expired at 6 am," the statement added.

When contacted, a senior official of the hospital told PTI that enough symptoms of black fungus infection like black patches on the face and loss of vision were there with the patient when he arrived.

"Clinically speaking, we can say that the patient had black fungus. But we can say it definitely only after studying the fungal culture. His samples have been sent for testing and it will take around four days for the report to come," he added.

A senior official of the Directorate of Health Services said that the government does not have any data as of now on black fungus infection as it has not been made a "notified disease" in the state.

"We are working on this and there is no need to panic.

We have enough stock of medicines in the state to treat the infection," the official told PTI.

Mucormycosis or black fungus is a complication caused by a fungal infection. People catch the infection by coming in contact with fungal spores in the environment. It can also develop after the fungus enters the skin through a cut, burn or other types of skin trauma.

It can affect areas from where it can be inhaled - through the nose, sinus, or lungs. If it enters from a wound or skin, it can cause local infection, but if it enters from the sinus, it can affect the eyes and brain.

Meanwhile, a government release said the Health Department has instructed a team of medical experts to study the development related to black fungus in the state and submit a report by Wednesday night.

"We will issue necessary directives after receiving the report. We are very serious about infection by black fungus and keeping a close watch. I request the public not to panic as black fungus is not a communicable disease," Health Minister Keshab Mahanta said.

Assam's COVID-19 death toll rose to 2433 after 89 more people succumbed to the disease on Wednesday, while 6,143 new cases of infection pushed the tally to 3,47,001, the National Health Mission said.

Uttar Pradesh:

Two cases of black fungus or mucormycosis were confirmed here, a senior health official said on Wednesday.

Of late, the disease has been reported among patients who are either recovering or have recovered from COVID-19. A person can get infected with black fungus by coming in contact with fungal spores present in the environment.

"Two cases of black fungus have been confirmed in the city," Chief Medical Officer Bhanu Partap Kalyani said.

The first case was reported from Deen Dayal Upadhyay Government Hospital and the second one was found at a private hospital in Dhanipur locality on Tuesday, he said.

A report on these two cases has been sent to the Uttar Pradesh health department, Kalyani said admitting that some of the critical drugs needed for black fungus "are presently not in stock here".

The CMO further said, "We have started treatment with some oral drugs and an urgent requisition for these specific drugs has been made to the state health department and are expected to arrive by Wednesday evening."