Separate wards, medical teams in Maharashtra hospitals to treat Mucormycosis, says Rajesh Tope

Aurangabad: The Maharashtra government plans to set up separate wards at hospitals to treat people with Mucormycosis, a rare and dangerous fungal infection which has been found in some COVID-19 patients as well as those who had recovered from the infection, state health minister Rajesh Tope said on Saturday.

He said the infection, also called black fungus, was a new challenge and its treatment needed ophthalmologists, ENT specialists, neuro and plastic surgeons, etc, under the same roof and that is why the state government had decided to set up separate wards.

"A separate team of doctors would be appointed as well. We have received 5,000 injections to treat Mucormycosis and they are being distributed. More injections are being procured by the state government," he added.

Tope said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to meet 17 district collectors of Maharashtra on 20 May and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will take a review meet ahead of it to discuss health infrastructure and other issues related to the COVID-19 outbreak.

He also said the condition of senior Congress leader Rajiv Satav, currently hospitalised in Pune for COVID-19 treatment, was critical.