According to reports, the Maharashtra health department has informed that it has decided to create a separate database for cases of mucormycosis, primarily found in patients suffering from the coronavirus, in order to assess its actual spread and how to tackle it.
In recent developments, state health services director Dr Archana Patil stated that earlier there was no regular health management of mucormycosis, though it was detected in a few pockets. However, the authorities have now decided to make a detailed report of such cases in the state, and guidelines regarding it will soon be issued to all the districts, Patil said on Wednesday, May 12.
Meanwhile, earlier on Tuesday, May 11, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope informed, “There could be over 2,000 mucormycosis patients in the state as of now and with more and more Covid-19 cases coming up, their number would increase for sure." Speaking about the same, Tope stated that the state government is trying to cover most of the treatment under the Mahatma Phule Jan Aarogya Yojana (the state's flagship health scheme). Furthermore, Amphotericin-B is a key medicine required for the treatment of such patients. Haffkine (a state-run pharma firm based in Mumbai) is going float a tender for one lakh injections of the drug, Tope added.
Mucormycosis or black fungus is a rare disease that mostly affects individuals with a weakened immune system or those who have existing health conditions. A group of moulds/fungus cause this infection. This fungus is commonly found in the environment. The infection impacts the skin and can also affect the lungs as well as the brain.
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