UP govt forms 12-member panel of PGI experts to tackle black fungus cases
LUCKNOW : The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday formed a 12-member medical expert panel of SGPGIMS doctors to tackle the challenges posed by the increasing number of black fungus cases.Black fungus (mucormycosis) is a potentially lethal post-Covid-19 complication that is being experienced by some recovered coronavirus patients the world over. UP too has been reporting such cases since the last week.
LUCKNOW : The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday formed a 12-member medical expert panel of SGPGIMS (Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences) doctors to tackle the challenges posed by the increasing number of black fungus cases.
Black fungus (mucormycosis) is a potentially lethal postCovid-19 complication that is being experienced by some recovered coronavirus patients the world over. UP too has been reporting such cases since the last week.
A government spokesperson said, “A 12-member Covid-19 associated mucormycosis (CAM) management team of SGPGI has been formed.”
The team is headed by Dr Amit Keshari (Neuro-otology). It had already begun functioning and held a video conference on Saturday, Dr Keshari said.
“The team will be responsible for forming Rapid Response Teams (RRTs), making treatment protocol, ensuring availability of medicines and database of cases, creation of more teams in state medical colleges and hospitals, sensitisation of healthcare workers for early diagnosis and management of cases as per ICMR guidelines as well as making recommendations to reduce panic among public and healthcare workers,” the government spokesman added.
The team’s members include
Prof Alok Nath (head of the department of pulmonary medicine), Prof Shantanu Pandey (cardio-vascular and thoracic surgery), Prof Vikas Kannojia (ophthalmology), Prof Rungmie Marak (microbiology), Dr Subhash Yadav (endocrinology), Dr Arun Srivastava (neurosurgery), Dr Pawan Kumar Verma (neurosurgery), Dr Sujit Kumar Gautam (anesthesiology), Dr Chetna Shamsheri (anesthesiology), Dr Vinita Mani (neurosurgery), and Dr Kuldeep Vishwakarma (maxillofacial surgery).
The government has urged the state government officials concerned to coordinate with the advisory committee immediately to formulate and release the necessary guidelines for its treatment.
The government has also called for online training of health personnel engaged in Covid treatment for management of black fungus.
It has directed authorities to immediately connect all medical colleges, chief medical officers (CMOs) and other physicians involved in treatment with SGPGIMS to facilitate necessary medical training for them.
The high-risk groups for black fungus are Covid-19 patients; patients with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus (DM), Type 2 DM patients on high steroids therapy, patients receiving Immunosuppressive therapy and patients in ICU for a long time, on oxygen therapy and with high ferritin (a blood protein), said the statement.