Indore hospital reports 49 cases of black fungus in 40 days

Black fungus is a complication caused by a fungal infection. People catch mucormycosis by coming in contact with the fungal spores in the environment.

The Maharaja Yeshwantrao Hospital (MYH) in Madhya Pradesh's Indore has reported 49 deaths due to mucormycosis or black fungus infection in the past 40 days, a senior official from the facility has said.

Black fungus can also develop on the skin after the fungus enters the skin through a cut, scrape, burn, or other types of skin trauma, as per the Union health ministry. (Sakib Ali/HindustanTimes)

The hospital, attached to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College had 614 black fungus patients, of which 283 have been discharged and 49 have died, most having been brought to the hospital from different parts of the state in the late stage, Dean Dr Sanjay Dixit told news agency PTI.

The first black fungus patient was admitted in this hospital on May 13, MYH Superintendent Pramendra Thakur said.

Several states including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha, Telangana and Tamil Nadu have declared it a 'notifiable' disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act, thereby making it mandatory to report every black fungus case to the state government.

Black fungus is a complication caused by a fungal infection. People catch mucormycosis by coming in contact with the fungal spores in the environment. It can also develop on the skin after the fungus enters the skin through a cut, scrape, burn, or other types of skin trauma, as per the Union health ministry.