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.

Here's all the latest updates on black fungus:

1. Maharashtra has reported as many as 7,998 cases of black fungus so far and 729 people have succumbed to the disease, according to the state health department's data.
2. The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police has busted a unit manufacturing fake drugs meant for treatment of Covid-19 and black fungus patients and arrested 10 people, including two doctors, officials said, according to news agency PTI.
3. One more case of black fungus was detected in Assam, taking the total number of such cases in the state to five, an official said.
4. The first case of black fungus has been confirmed in Argentina, the country's health ministry has informed.
5. The Maharashtra police have arrested three people for allegedly black-marketing a key drug used in the treatment of black fungus infection, an official said.