New Delhi: At this time when coronavirus cases are declining, the cases of black fungus, otherwise known as Mucormycosis, were on the rise in the national capital on Wednesday. News agency ANI on Wednesday reported citing sources that 40 patients with black fungus have admitted to Sir Gangaram Hospital while 16 others on the waiting list for beds.
Prior to this, there were also reports that 25 black fungus cases were detected in the national capital. As per this earlier report, Delhi has over 25 black fungus cases in hospitals across the national capital.
On the other hand, the medical experts on Tuesday said that hospitals in Delhi have reported a rise in the number of back fungus cases or mucormycosis among people recovering from COVID-19 during the second wave and it could be ascribed to “irrational” use of steroids at home without consulting a doctor.
The fungal infection, which affects the brain, lungs, and sinuses, can be lethal to those suffering from diabetes and having compromised immune systems.
As per Dr Suresh Singh Naruka, Senior Consultant, ENT, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, mucormycosis is more prevalent among people with low immunity due to diabetes, kidney disease, liver disorder, old age, cardiac issues, or those on medication for auto-immune disease like rheumatoid arthritis.
Doctors also said that the drugs used in the treatment of mucormycosis have severe side-effects, and can lead to kidney issues, neurological dysfunction and stroke.
In the wake of these developments, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Wednesday directed authorities to take immediate steps to ensure the availability of drugs related to black fungus and the newly launched D-2G for people in genuine and medically prescribed need.
The LG also directed authorities to ensure that distributors and retailers of drugs and equipment related to COVID, mandatorily display their stocks and prices.
The directives were issued at a review meeting on management of COVID-19 situation in the national capital chaired by Baijal. The meeting was attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia, the chief secretary, MCD commissioners and senior officials of Delhi Police.
The LG stressed during the meeting that testing, especially RT-PCR, should not go down, since owing to the lockdown the antigen tests had naturally gone down.
The national capital reported 4,482 cases, the lowest since April 5, and 265 fatalities on Tuesday, while the positivity rate dropped to 6.89 per cent, according to the health bulletin released by the city government.