Karnataka faces severe shortage of drug to treat black fungus

Critical shortage of an anti-fungal drug required to treat mucormycosis or black fungus, which is increasingly being found in Covid patients and those who have recovered from the disease, has become a new source of worry for Covid-battered Karnataka.

Hospitals in Bengaluru and the state are turning back patients as they have no stocks of Liposomal Amphotericin B, an expensive anti-fungal medication that is the only available option in the market to treat the disease.

Liposomal Amphotericin B is available in 50 mg vials. Each patient requires 40-60 vials during the course of treatment and each vial costs Rs 7,000. The Karnataka State Drugs Logistics and Warehousing Society said it is left with just 1,050 vials, reflecting the seriousness of the situation.

Dr Ravi Sachidananda, ENT/head and neck surgeon, People Tree Hospital, said the hospital has stopped taking in patients as they had run out of the drug. "A busy ENT surgeon would not see more than two or three cases of mucormycosis in a year out of 6,000 ENT cases. Now, we are seeing only these cases," he said.

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"Each patient needs 60 vials. With four vials required per day, the patient needs it for 15 days. This is the only drug available in the market to treat this disease," he said.

According to this calculation, the state has enough vials left only for 17.5 patients.

"We can use plain Amphotericin B but it carries the risk of damaging the kidney. It has to be taken after guidance from nephrologists. Patients need subsidy as each one needs to shell out Rs 4.2 lakh for 15 days worth of vials," he added.

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Dr Bhujang Shetty, Chairman and Managing Director, Narayana Nethralaya, said the hospital had "approached both the health minister and additional chief secretary, health".

"But we have not received the drug yet," he said. "We have been approached by at least 18 patients who we had to refer to other hospitals," Dr Bhujang said.

Talking about the shortage, Shridhar G K, Director, Dhanavantri Speciality Pharma Pvt Ltd, said pharmaceutical firm Cipla had a production capacity of six lakh vials at a time but the demand is for "13 lakh vials".