At least 59 die of black fungus as fatalities outpace recoveries
At least 59 people have died of mucormycosis across hospitals in Delhi so far after the second wave of coronavirus disease (Covid-19), said senior Delhi government officials on Monday. The number of deaths due to the aggressive infection, commonly known as black fungus, is higher than the recoveries so far — only 41 people who contracted the fungal infection in the national capital have recovered.
There were 748 black fungus patients undergoing treatment for the infection in Delhi as on Monday, according to data received by the Delhi government from hospitals in the city.
“There are nearly 300 cases of black fungus in central government hospitals, and around 650 in Delhi government hospitals. However, the supply of injections to treat the infection is not adequate. We received 1,000 injections two days ago (Saturday), but did not receive any on Sunday. It takes three or four
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injections per person per day to effectively treat the infection,” Kejriwal said on Monday. The CM included patients who have been discharged or have died, officials later clarified.
Mucormycosis is a fungal infection that usually affects the mouth, nose, and eyes, and may then spread to the brain.
The recovery of patients with the infection has been hit by the acute shortage of Amphotericin-b, the only effective last-line medicine for the fungus. The medicine, which is under the Centre’s control, is allocated based on the number of cases reported from each state. So far, Delhi has received only 4,670 vials of the drug; each patient needs 50 vials of the medicine per week on average, according to doctors.
“Whenever we get the allocation from the Centre, we distribute them to hospitals in proportion to the number of infections in each facility. There is a huge shortage of the life-saving medicine,” said another senior official from Delhi’s health department, asking not to be named. The Delhi government has set up a four-member technical expert committee that approves or denies requests from hospitals for the drug.
A doctor from a Delhi government hospital, requesting anonymity, said, “Although we are still getting higher than usual black fungus cases, they’re slowly decreasing. It’s because there is awareness about the infection and the use of steroids has gone down.”