The rising number of cases of mucormycosis, a fungal infection commonly known as ‘Black Fungus’, the Gujarat government has ordered 5,000 Amphotericin-B injections worth Rs 3.12 crore for treating the patients.
In mucormycosis cases, a fungal infection as a post-coronavirus complication, the state government in a core-committee meeting under Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Saturday announced that all government civil hospitals, especially in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, and Jamnagar, where high incidence of the infection has been noted, will set up separate wards for treatment of such patients.
More than 100 cases of mucormycosis, also known as black fungus, have been notified across state government hospitals and Gujarat Medical Education Research Society (GMERS) hospitals. Currently, Ahmedabad’s Zydus Hospital has around 40 such patients while Vadodara’s SSG hospital is treating 35 patients.
In Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital at Asarwa, 19 patients are undergoing treatment at the two wards, with 60 beds each, which have been created for treating mucormycosis patients.
Symptoms depend on where the fungus was growing in the body. If the growth is on the sinus and brain region, symptoms can include one-sided facial swelling, headache, nasal or sinus congestion, fever, and black lesions on the nasal bridge or upper inside of the mouth that can quickly become more severe. It may also lead to eye pain and ultimately result in loss of vision if not treated immediately. If in the lung, symptoms may include fever, cough, chest pain and shortness of breath.
Skin mucormycosis can look like blisters or ulcers and the infected area may turn black. Gastrointestinal mucormycosis may be indicated by abdominal pain, vomiting and gastrointestinal bleeding,
The infection is not categorised as a communicable disease, the state health department does not maintain a public record of the same, unless individually notified by hospitals. On Saturday, the state government announced that it has placed an order for 5,000 injections of the antifungal drug, Amphotericin-B, at a cost of Rs 3.12 crore, used in the treatment of the fungal infection.
Besides the antifungal injection, treatment can include surgical intervention and control over diabetes, with the latter especially aimed at avoiding a relapse of the infection.
According hospitals, liposomal Amphotericin-B, which is to be administered in mucormycosis patients with chronic kidney disease, was currently seeing a shortage in the drug market.
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