JOIN USIn one month, 'black fungus' claims five lives in Jammu and Kashmir
As many as five people have died due to mucormycosis aka 'black fungus' — a rare but dangerous fungal infection — in Jammu and Kashmir in the last one month, official figures reveal.
All the five deaths attributed to mucormycosis were reported from three districts of Jammu region and none from Kashmir. However, the cases have been reported from seven districts of the union territory (UT), including Kashmir valley.
So far, 19 cases of confirmed mucormycosis have been reported while 10 more suspected cases of the fungal infection are admitted at various hospitals, the data reveals. Of the total 29 cases, 24 are from Jammu division and five from Kashmir. mucormycosis has a very high fatality rate across India and in J&K the mortality of the infection is over 17%.
Mucormycosis became a much talked about subject across the country after some recovering and recovered Covid-19 patients were found infected with the disease, whose symptoms include headache, fever, pain under the eyes, nasal or sinus congestion and partial loss of vision.
Health experts say mucormycosis is mostly found among Covid-19 patients who have diabetes, fluctuation in sugar level or increased iron level in the blood. It is a “notifiable disease” and all suspected and confirmed cases are reported to the government of India.
J&K government declared 'black fungus' an epidemic on May 24 after its cases started emerging in various parts of the UT among patients who had either recovered from Covid-19 or were undergoing treatment for the viral infection.
Like most parts of the country, the Liposomal Amphotericin B vials, a key medicine needed to treat black fungus, also is in short supply across the UT. A senior health official said the crisis of these drugs was also due to delay in reporting of these cases which resulted in a shortfall in allocation.