Mucormycosis: India has over 8,800 black fungus cases, says Union minister Sadananda Gowda

There are 8,848 cases of mucormycosis or “black fungus” infection across the country, Union minister Sadananda Gowda said on Saturday.

The minister added that 23,680 additional vials of Amphotericin-B, the drug used to treat the infection, have been allocated to the affected states and Union territories.

“After a detailed review of rising no. of cases of #Mucormycosis in various states, a total of 23,680 additional vials of #Amphotericin- B have been allocated to all States/UTs today,” Gowda, who is minister of chemicals and fertilisers, tweeted.

States like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Telangana – all badly affected – have been allotted 75% of the additional vials, the minister added. The remaining 25% will be allocated after verification of the number of patients. Gujarat has the highest number of infections with 2,281 cases and has been allocated 5,800 vials, while Maharashtra, with 2,000 cases, has received 5,090 vials.

Andhra Pradesh has reported 910 mucormycosis cases with 2,310 vials allocated, while Madhya Pradesh has 720 patients and will receive 1,830 vials. The number of cases in Karnataka is 500, Telangana 350, while Haryana has reported 250 cases and Delhi 197. Among other states, Uttar Pradesh has 112 cases, Punjab 95, Chhattisgarh has 87 cases and Bihar 56 cases.

Kerala (36), Jharkhand (27) and Goa (12) are the other states reporting the fungal infection caused by the use of steroids for treating COVID-19 especially in those suffering from diabetes with uncontrolled sugar levels or those taking immunosuppressants.