In early May Indian doctors sounded the alarm against increased cases of mucormycosis – a deadly fungus that has affected coronary heart disease.
– We see a tsunami of mucormycosis, which threatens to kill patients who have survived covid-19, said ear-nose-throat specialist Navin Patel to Times of India.
In recent weeks, thousands have been affected by the fungal infection. Hundreds have ended up in hospitals, and 90 deaths have been registered. Three states in India, Rajasthan, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, have already declared the fungus an epidemic.
The government has listed it as a notifiable disease. On Thursday, Health Minister Lav Agarwal wrote a letter to India’s 29 states calling for the fungus to be declared an epidemic everywhere.
TREATED: A Covid-19 patient is being treated for the deadly covid fungus at the NSCB Hospital in Jabalpur. Photo: AFP
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“You are asked to make mucormycosis a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897, where all public and private health facilities and medical colleges will follow screening, diagnosis, treatment guidelines, and make it mandatory for everyone to report suspected and confirmed cases to Ministry of Health, writes the Minister of Health, according to The Hindu.
Maharashtra is among the states hardest hit by the latest corona wave. Health Minister Rajesh Tope says BBC that 1500 cases of covid fungi have been registered there.
The BBC writes that doctors have been forced to remove eyes and jaws to stop the fungus from spreading to the brain – and thus lead to permanent damage.
Doctors are attacked and die: – Heartbreaking
Lack of medicine
The fungal epidemic has also led to a shortage of Amphotericin B – the drug used to treat mucormycosis.
The state of Gujarat has applied for 100,000 new doses of the medicine and warns against a rapid increase in cases of the disease.
The Covid fungus most often affects the sinuses and lungs, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). People with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable.
The disease is not contagious, but can be fatal to people with weakened immune systems. Diabetics should be particularly vulnerable. According to Indian doctors, the fungus appears to affect 12-15 days after undergoing covid-19.
To Times of India Several doctors say they believe mucormycosis can be triggered by the steroids used to treat seriously ill corona patients. A total of four steroids have been given the green light by the WHO.
