Cases of black fungus have exploded across India with over 7,000 cases and more than 200 deaths reported.
The western state of Maharashtra, the epicentre of coronavirus infections, has over 1,500 cases of mucormycosis and 90 deaths, with over 60 deaths in neighbouring Gujarat.
At least 10 states have reported black fungus infections.
Epidemic within an epidemic
The governments of Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Odisha, Telangana, Assam and Delhi declared mucormycosis an epidemic after a number of infections leading to deaths.
Mucormycosis, also known as "black fungus", is a rare fungal infection caused by exposure to a group of molds called the mucormycetes. The infection, with an estimated fatality rate of 50 per cent, can result in permanent blindness and damages to the nosehttps://t.co/tb17dIZzx3
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On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned against the new challenge of black fungus and said the country must be prepared to fight the rare and potentially fatal condition that is increasingly being seen in recovering Covid-19 patients.
Considered an "opportunistic" infection, the disease has become a dramatic trend for a raft of secondary ailments suggestive of India's inability to contain the world's fastest-growing coronavirus outbreak.
“India’s Covid-19 epidemic now appears to have an epidemic within it. And now we have to battle this too,” said Randeep Guleria, director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
“Good control of blood sugar levels, those on steroids must monitor blood sugar levels regularly, and be careful about when to give steroids and their dosage."
Doctors have blamed the high use of steroids to combat the coronavirus, which is killing more than 50 percent of patients within days. In some cases, eyes and upper jaws are removed by surgeons to save lives.
Excess use of steroids
Those afflicted with moderate or severe Covid-19 are often administered steroids that work to dampen the immune system and prevent it from unleashing a heightened inflammatory response, called a cytokine storm that often renders the disease fatal.
In the process, the steroids tend to increase glucose levels in cells, and the curtailed immune system makes the body vulnerable to the so-called opportunistic infections from bacteria and fungi.
In many cases across the country it has been discovered that the infection starts in the skin and invades the sinuses and other parts of the face. It requires surgery if it's not subdued with anti-fungal therapy.
“We need to be highly alert especially in the first 60 days, if the patient has received excessive steroids, oxygen and used a ventilator for long,” said Rahul Modi, a specialist from Mumbai.”
“Without treatment, it can cause a lethal bloodstream infection.”
In the midst of this crisis, a shortage of Amphotericin-B - an anti-fungal drug used to treat the infection has been reported from several places. India’s health ministry said it was looking for more companies to produce the antifungal drug and also increase imports of the medication.
Mansukh Mandaviya, minister of state for chemicals and fertilizers, said five new pharma companies had been approved to produce the drug.
