State govt places order for 1 lakh Amphotericin vials to treat Black fungus patients

A day after its decision to provide free treatment to the COVID-19 recovered patient affected by Mucormycosis, the Maharashtra Government on Tuesday placed order of one lakh doses of Amphotericin with the state-run Haffkine Bio Pharma for its supply, announced Public Health Minister Rajesh Tope. He said the state government will soon issue guidelines on treatment protocols for Mucormycosis affected patients.

The state has so far reported 2,000 patients and 8 deaths due to Mucormycosis.

“Mucormycosis is a very serious disease and its effects on the body are serious. Therefore, it is important to treat these patients as soon as possible. The state government would create a lot of awareness among citizens of its effects,” said Tope. He admitted that the injections are expensive to treat this disease and therefore the government has placed the order of 1 lakh doses of Amphotericin injections with Haffkine Bio Pharma so that there is no shortage. He added that the government will cap the prices of Amphototericin.

Tope said although Mucormycosis is rare, it is not new. Patients with low immunity as well as those undergoing organ transplants are more likely to develop black fungus (mucormycosis). He reiterated that the government has decided to provide free treatment to such patients under the Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana which is a state insurance scheme.

Meanwhile, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Maharashtra State has hailed the state government’s decision to treat the Mucormycosis patients for free under the Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana. “We appreciate the government’s proactive step. It is known that this fungal infection of Mucormycosis is common in Diabetics and in cases of COVID 19 treated by injudicious use of Steroids. We, at IMA, are making our members aware of these facts and training them in proper treatment. We are sure that the government will show a similar proactive approach in controlling the corona pandemic in the future,” said president Dr Ramkrishna Londhe and Hon state secretary Dr Pankaj Bandarkar in a statement.