(Image source from: livemint.com)

When the country is shattered due to the coronavirus pandemic, the black fungus turned out to be a new threat. Black fungus or mucormycosis is now declared as an epidemic in four Indian states. mucormycosis is caused due to fungi and it impacted thousands of coronavirus patients across India. The Union government during their recent reports said that the total number of people impacted due to mucormycosis in India are said to be 7251. As per the reports from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the fatality rate due to mucormycosis is 54 percent. There are reports that the drug Amphotericin B used for the treatment is nephrotoxic and can lead to kidney damage.

There are 90 deaths reported in Maharashtra due to mucormycosis and Gujarat reported 61 deaths and Madhya Pradesh has 31. All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) announced special instructions to handle and treat mucormycosis. As per the research article 'Epidemiology of mucormycosis in India' that is published in the medical journal Microorganics, the number of cases and incidence of mucormycosis increased in the country over the years. It all started in Maharashtra and the cases are now reported in Karnataka, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Haryana.

More than 1500 cases are reported in Maharashtra till date and Haryana reported 226 cases. The Centre asked the states to declare mucormycosis as an epidemic and take things seriously. All the Indian states are asked to report the confirmed cases. All the existing pharma companies of the country started the production of medicines to treat mucormycosis as there is a huge shortage.

By Siva Kumar