According to reports, more than 1,700 patients with mucormycosis — an invasive fungal infection — are currently under treatment in Maharashtra.
State health authorities have expressed concern and have advised doctors to take utmost care in order to reduce the possibility of COVID-19 patients catching this opportunistic infection.
Meanwhile, additional chief secretary (health) Pradeep Vyas in an online conference said that the fatality rate of fungal infections is more than 20 per cent. However, certain districts saw a much higher death rate. Mumbai saw a mortality rate of 20% as 136 people died out of 680 admissions. Palghar had the highest death rate (45.4%) as five of the 11 confirmed mucormycosis cases succumbed to it.
Washim, Ratnagiri, Satara and Jalgaon recorded a fatality rate of more than 21%. In absolute numbers, Nagpur saw 467 deaths, the highest in the state.
The virtual meeting was attended by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and health authorities from across the state.
Mucormycosis, also known as Black Fungus, recently saw a significant dip in cases, but the deadly fungal infection continues to affect coronavirus patients.
In August, Maharashtra reported 161 cases of mucormycosis despite a drop in COVID-19 infections. However, August cases were a massive decline over 5,644 reported in May, 2,653 in June and 675 in July.
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