States in India have a crisis as the drug used to cure an infection increasing detected among patients is now in short supply, and health officials sound more frantic, reported CNN.
Shortage of black fungus drug gets serious
This infection called mucormycosis has been recognized before the pandemic even started. It seemed that the coronavirus triggers the infection, as it has infected not only COVID-19 patients but also those who survived the pandemic. Molds found in wet conditions develop it, impacting the respiratory tract, especially in significantly compromised immune systems.
According to local health officials, 2,000 cases have been reported so far.
Dr. Tatyarao Lahane, a senior state health official, said last Wednesday that about 100 cases are seen on a daily average.
Rajesh Tope, the state's health minister, mentioned at least 90 people have died of the black fungus in Maharashtra, including in the bustling financial center Mumbai, where the disease outbreak has hit hard. At least 800 people have been hospitalized as a consequence of the epidemic, cited 9 News.
The state of Rajasthan has announced that the black fungus infection has become a "notifiable disease" after getting reports of many cases. Haryana and Telangana have declared it a notifiable disease that must be reported to the national government.
State officials said that 115 cases were found in Haryana and at least 150 in Telangana.
Padma Srivastava, the head of the Department of Neurology in the All-India Institute Of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, said that black fungus cases have also been discovered there, remarked ABC 17.
In a media interview last Wednesday, Srivastava added that mostly 20 cases are seen in emergency rooms, that many other wards were needed for the hospital's black fungus patients.
Amphotericin B, an antifungal drug, will be arriving in Maharashtra, but there is an initial shortfall since the increase in case numbers was not expected, said state official Lahane.
Tope indicated the state ordered 100,000 vials of amphotericin B the other week. There are some places with no patients, but several other states need it, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, and Telangana.
Last Monday, the High Court of Gujarat, a western state north of Maharashtra, released an order warning of "the dramatic increase in reports of flesh-eating black fungal infection recognized as mucormycosis."
Based on the order, scarcity of injections is happening to curve the flesh-eating disease, and how much to treat it is a serious matter for the state concerned.
After it has given the statement, the state government of Gujarat made an order of 100,000 vials of liposomal amphotericin B injections for the patients.
V. K. Paul, the head of India's COVID-19 task force, said the infection is triggered by a fungus called mucor found on wet surfaces.
In a statement released Tuesday by the Indian Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, there was an unexpected increase in demand for the medication made in the country and committed to supplying the drug.
Related article: India's Coronavirus Deaths More Than 200,000 During Surge
