Govt says situation stabilising, but flags cases of black fungus

NEW DELHI: The overall Covid-19 situation in the country appears to be stabilising, the Union government said on Saturday, but experts also warned that secondary infections such as mucormycosis, or “black fungus”, were adding to the country’s mortality rate.

Niti Aayog member Dr VK

Paul said that to control the spread of the rare fungal infection, people must control their blood sugar levels, maintain hygiene, and doctors must prescribe steroids with caution.

“Some states are reporting 400 to 500 cases; we do not know the burden of the disease yet. This is an emerging problem and ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) has started collecting data. We have also asked states to keep an eye on it,” he said.

Black fungus cases went up 2.5 times last year between September and December across 16 centres in the country, according to Dr Arunaloke Chakrabarti, head of the department of microbiology at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh.