Uttarakhand's Dehradun district on Sunday reported 20 new cases of black fungus and the death of three patients during treatment.
According to a bulletin of the Health Department, the total number of black fungus patients in the state has gone up to 299, 47 patients have died and 18 patients have recovered so far.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh has the highest number of patients (195) undergoing treatment.
Mucormycosis or black fungus is a complication caused by a fungal infection. People catch mucormycosis by coming in contact with the fungal spores in the environment. It can also develop on the skin after the fungus enters the skin through a cut, scrape, burn, or other types of skin trauma, as per the Union Health Ministry. The disease is being detected among patients who are recovering or have recovered from COVID-19. Moreover, anyone who is diabetic and whose immune system is not functioning well needs to be on the guard against this.
Looking at the rising cases of Mucormycosis or 'black fungus', the Union Health Ministry had last month said the availability of Amphotericin-B, the key drug to treat the deadly disease is now being increased and the ministry is in touch with five additional manufacturers.
Several states including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha, Telangana and Tamil Nadu have declared it a 'notifiable' disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act, thereby making it mandatory to report every Mucormycosis case to the state government.
( With inputs from ANI )
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