19 new cases of black fungus in Bihar, total rises to 201

Black fungus is a life-threatening opportunistic fungal infection and according to the Union health ministry, India currently has 5,424 cases among Covid-19 patients spread across 18 states and Union territories.

Bihar has reported 19 new cases of Mucormycosis or black fungus on Monday, taking the total number of patients to 201. The state also registered one death, taking the death toll from the disease to five.

Mucormycosis, if left untreated, can kill up to 80% of those infected. (Agency Photo)

Seven new black fungus cases were reported from Patna’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), four at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), three at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital in Bhagalpur, one from the Darbhanga Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and four from different private health facilities in Patna, said state health officials, adding other details were awaited.

Black fungus is a life-threatening opportunistic fungal infection and according to the Union health ministry, India currently has 5,424 cases among Covid-19 patients spread across 18 states and Union territories. 4,556 of these patients have a history of Covid-19 infection and 55% of them had diabetes. Mucormycosis, if left untreated, can kill up to 80% of those infected. In others, it can lead to loss of eyesight and deformity of facial structures as doctors debride or remove the dead tissues. It usually affects the nose, eye, and then moves on to the brain.

The Bihar government on May 22 declared black fungus a notifiable disease under the epidemic diseases act. On May 18, it designated the AIIMS at Patna and the IGIMS, as centres of excellence for the treatment of the fungal infection in the state. Several other states have also declared Mucormycosis as an epidemic.

Bihar reported the first casualty due to suspected Mucormycosis when a 58-year-old man from Kaimur, admitted at the AIIMS, died on May 12. A doctor, who was undergoing treatment at the Ruban Memorial Hospital, a private health facility in Patna, also died of black fungus on May 17. Two deaths of patients from Chapra and Patna were reported at the IGIMS on May 23.

AIIMS Patna has already created a separate 30-bed ward for treatment of cases of black fungus, which have been rising rapidly from the end of April.