12 succumb to black fungus infection in one week

Varanasi: The black fungus or mucormycosis infection claimed 12 more lives in the past seven days in Varanasi region. Till Monday the black fungus toll had reached 54 in the region.
Most of the patients belonging to the region are being treated at the Banaras Hindu University hospital. Regarding the period between June 15 and Monday, hospital’s medical superintendent Prof KK Gupta said, “A total of 10 new cases of black fungus were admitted after which its tally had reached 199. Due to black fungus infection, 12 more lives were lost in this period after which the toll became 54.”
The first black fungus case in the region was detected on April 30 when a patient had reached BHU hospital amidst the second wave of Covid-19. A 54-year-old Covid-19 positive and comorbid woman from Azamgarh was the first to succumb to this infection. Since then, the number of patients from east UP districts has steadily increased at the hospital.
“Of the 199 cases of black fungus infection we treated, 14 have been discharged after getting cured so far,” said Prof Gupta, mentioning that surgeries have been conducted upon 118 mucormycosis infected patients at this hospital.
“As many as 131 are under treatment,” he said adding, “only four of them are admitted in Covid ward while others are being treated at non-Covid wards of the hospital.”
The menace of black fungus is continuing in the region at a time when the second wave of Covid is on decline. “At the super-speciality block of BHU hospital, where level-3 facility for critical Covid-19 positive cases is operated for the patients from east UP district, the number of patients has come down the to 50,” said Prof Gupta adding among 49 patients being treated there, 12 are those who had been shifted from DRDO hospital before it was made defunct on June 16.