E-Paper
16 new cases of black fungus, 4 of white fungus found in Patna
PATNA Sixteen new cases of black fungus were reported in Bihar on Thursday while four cases of white fungus, associated with coronavirus, were detected at the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) in the last as many months, the last having been found four days back, said doctors
PATNA
Sixteen new cases of black fungus were reported in Bihar on Thursday while four cases of white fungus, associated with coronavirus, were detected at the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) in the last as many months, the last having been found four days back, said doctors.
The total cases of mucormycosis in the state had now gone up to 103, said Dr Anjani Kumar, additional director, health services, Bihar.
Twenty-eight patients were admitted at the AIIMS-Patna, 41 at Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), one at the Nalanda Medical College Hospital and 33 at different private facilities in Patna, including one in Nalanda, said Dr Kumar.
Dr Satyendra Narayan Singh, professor and head of department of microbiology at the PMCH, who found the four cases of white fungus, cautioned doctors against excessive use of steroids on Covid-19 patients.
Referring to the black and white fungus as opportunistic fungi, present both in the air and the soil, Dr Singh said they affect people with low immunity level, especially the old, suffering from uncontrolled diabetes, cancer and kidney patients or those who have undergone organ transplants like kidney and liver, and were on immunosuppressant drugs.
Dr Kranti Bhawna, additional professor and head of ENT department at AIIMS-Patna, too cautioned against overdose of steroids for cure of Covid-19 patients. She said prolonged steroid therapy compromised immunity of patients and made them vulnerable to fungi attack.
“Good glycemic (sugar) control is the key. While treating Covid-19 patients on steroids, doctors should be careful to keep their sugar level under control. Secondly, overuse of steroids is not good, as it decreases the immunity,” said Dr Bhawna, adding that fatality in mucormycosis is 30%-80%.
Dr Bhawna has been operating upon at least two cases of mucormycosis at AIIMS everyday.
“We have around 45 patients with mucormycosis at our institute of which at least five are serious and in ICU. If doctors at PMCH, Nalanda Medical College Hospital and the Darbhanga Medical College Hospital begin to operate black fungus cases, it will help reduce our load,” she said.
Two deaths have so far been attributed to black fungus in Patna. Among the deceased was a local doctor, who died at the Ruban Memorial Hospital, a private facility in Patna, on May 17. Earlier on May 12, a 58-year-old male from Kaimur died at Patna’s AIIMS, a day after he was admitted there.
