All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi has been reporting 20 new cases of Black Fungus (Mucormycosis) every 24 hours, said Dr MV Padma Srivastava, Head of Department of Neurology.
She said, “In Delhi’s AIIMS, there are more than 20 cases of mucormycosis reported in an emergency today. Black Fungus was always there in those who were immunocompromised, diabetic, high steroid dose, but it was never in this number.”
Dr Padma added, “Earlier it was in single-digit. But, now we have crossed the three-digit mark and are getting more than 20 cases of fungus every day. We have made separate mucro wards in AIIMS Delhi, AIIMS Trauma Centre, and AIIMS Jhajjar.”
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She further said that if a diabetic patient contracts to Covid-19 then sugar must be controlled and there must be rational use of steroids. “Cases of mucormycosis began being reported two months ago in the states like Gujarat and Maharashtra have so far, reported more than 1,800 cases. Now, New Delhi is also reporting a high number of cases and a maximum of those are the ones who have taken high steroids or are diabetic”, she said.
She added, “Covid-19 strain may also be the reason and we need to do genome sequencing to understand this disease more.”
Max Hospitals across the country have reported more than 50 new Black Fungus cases out of which 25 are from Delhi alone.
Dr DS Rana, Chairperson, Sri Gangaram Hospital has informed that there are around 50 cases of fungus in the hospital, out of which 16 are on the waiting list.
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Earlier, Union Health Ministry explained Black Fungus and suggested the dos and don’ts.
Mucormycosis/ Black Fungus is any fungal infection caused by fungi that affects people with medical health problems and reduces their ability to fight environmental pathogens. People coming in contact with fungal spores in the environment can develop mucormycosis. The infection can also develop on the skin after the fungus enters the skin through a cut, scrape, burn, or other skin injuries.