In recent developments, the Maharashtra government has decided to use hospitals attached to medical colleges as treatment centres for Mucormycosis, a serious but rare fungal infection now affecting COVID-19 patients.
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."
In view of the situation, the state government has asked the Halfkin Institute in Mumbai for one lakh injections to be used for the treatment of Mucormycosis.
Meanwhile, the first case of Mucormycosis has reportedly been found in the Thane district. The symptoms were found in a woman whose eye had failed. The woman suffering from the coronavirus underwent some medical tests that showed the woman's eyes widening. During the examination, it was noticed that the right eye was not moving. In addition, a Mucormycosis patient needs to be seen by various experts such as ENT, ophthalmologists and neurologists among others.
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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