Hospitals in Bihar’s capital Patna have not received medicines used to treat patients of mucormycosis or “black fungus” from the state government for two straight days even as cases continue to rise, NDTV reported on Monday.
More than 300 patients have been admitted to hospitals in Patna. On Saturday, the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences received stocks of Liposomal and Amphotericin B injections, but they were below hospitals’ requirement.
The two hospitals are treating over 200 patients for mucormycosis. A patient needs six vials of Amphotericin-B every day.
AIIMS, Patna, where 110 patients are admitted, said it needs at least 700 vials a day. The Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences requires 585, the Hindustan Times reported, quoting Dr Manish Mandal, the hospital’s superintendent. He added that the hospital received only 200 vials of Amphotericin B on Saturday.
Dr Sanjeev Kumar, the nodal officer of the AIIMS in Patna, told NDTV that due to the shortages of Liposomal and Amphotericin B injections, doctors were administering Posaconazole tablets to the patients as a “stop gap arrangement”. “The recovery of patients will be considerably slow,” he added.
Unidentified officials from the Bihar Health Department told the news channel that they depended on the Centre for the supply of the medicines.
Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey said the injections will be provided to the hospitals on Tuesday as the state government has received an assurance from the Centre.
Mucormycosis is caused by a fungus named mucor, which is found on wet surfaces. The symptoms of the infection include headache, fever, pain under the eyes, nasal or sinus congestion, and partial loss of vision. One of the potential causes of the fungal infection is reportedly the use of steroids for Covid-19 treatment, which increases blood sugar levels.
India has recorded 28,252 cases of the infection so far, The Tribune reported on Tuesday, quoting Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.
More information on mucormycosis black fungus is available on the CDC website.
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