The number of persons diagnosed with mucormycosis has touched 400 in Tamil Nadu.
T.S. Selvavinagayam, Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, said that so far, 400 persons had been affected, with a majority of cases being reported from eight districts, including Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Vellore.
Cases of mucormycosis, an invasive fungal infection, are being reported in patients recovering from COVID-19 across the country.
Usually, it occurs one or two weeks after the acute phase of COVID-19, a time when patients are usually discharged, according to Mohan Kameswaran, managing director of Madras ENT Research Foundation. Dr. Kameswaran is a member of the task force constituted by the government for mucormycosis.
“Cases of mucormycosis have increased rapidly. We are seeing that the cases have crossed 400 in the State. The silver lining is that general COVID-19 cases have come down, and we are hoping that cases of mucormycosis will also come down as it follows by a couple of weeks,” he said.
He added that awareness among doctors had improved.
“They are much more aware of the infection, and are monitoring blood sugar levels and the usage of steroids. In general, Tamil Nadu is far better than other States that have reported several hundreds of cases of mucormycosis. This is partly because of awareness, and also owing to the steps being taken by the medical community. In addition, the management of COVID-19 is more scientific here,” he said.
He said many patients were being diagnosed fairly early.
R. Narayana Babu, Director of Medical Education, said the task force would look into the prevention of mucormycosis, its clinical presentation, management and research. A treatment protocol would also be formulated.
“The committee will meet periodically and submit the proceedings to the State government,” he said. He added that when patients were diagnosed with COVID-19 and hospitalised, doctors would monitor their blood sugar levels.
“Along with COVID-19 management, our doctors check if patients are diabetic and maintain blood sugar levels. We have specialists from ENT, ophthalmology and neurology at our COVID-19 hospitals. So, we are able to pick up cases early and follow appropriate management, facilitating recovery,” he said.
