Mucormycosis, i.e. black fungus, which became fatal for people recovering from corona infection in the country, killed 300 people in Karnataka alone. All of them came under its grip after recovering from a corona infection. More than 100 of these deaths have occurred from the capital Bengaluru. Black fungus is a rare and potentially fatal fungal infection. It emerged in the second wave of the pandemic earlier this year.
3,491 cases of black fungus reported in Karnataka till July 9
Let us tell you that till July 9, a total of 3,491 cases of black fungus were reported in Karnataka. The mortality rate in this disease has been 8.6 per cent. Urban Bengaluru has the highest number of 1,109 cases of black fungus, Dharwad 279, Vijayapura 208, Kalaburagi 196 and Belagavi 159. Similarly, Kalaburagi has the highest number of 23 deaths due to black fungus in the state. In the Dakshina Kannada region, 20 people have died due to this disease.
What is mucormycosis or black fungus?
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mucormycosis or black fungus is a sporadic infection. It is caused by a mucor fungus that grows on soil, plants, manure, rotten fruits and vegetables. According to the CDC, this fungus is found in the air, soil, and even in the nose and mucus of a healthy person. This fungus causes maximum damage to the sinuses, eyes, brain and lungs.
People recovering from corona infection are most at risk.
The highest risk of black fungus is being found in patients recovering from corona infection. Similarly, this disease can also occur in people suffering from diseases that reduce immunity. Its main symptoms include swelling of one side of the face, headache, nasal infection, dark sores on the upper part of the nose or mouth, fever, cough, chest pain, difficulty in breathing, swelling and pain in the eyes, drooping eyelids, blurred vision—sight, blindness etc.
According to experts, excessive use of steroids in corona patients and the use of contaminated water in oxygen therapy humidifiers may cause the black fungus. Similarly, diabetic patients also have a very high risk of it.
Most of the deaths occurred due to a lack of medicine.
The maximum number of deaths due to black fungus in the state were in May and early June. There was a severe shortage of liposomal amphotericin B injections used to treat black fungus. The Times of India quoted sources saying that patients were given a single dose of the drug over 2-3 days during that period, while its treatment regimen recommended 5-7 doses per day for the patient.
More than 40,000 cases of black fungus have been reported across the country.
According to the data released by the central government at the end of June, there were a total of 40,845 cases of black fungus in India. According to government data, the number of people who lost their lives due to black fungus infection at that time was 3,129.
This is the situation of corona infection in India.
In the last 24 hours in India, 37,154 new cases of infection with coronavirus were reported, and 724 patients died. With this, the total number of infected people in the country has gone up to 3,08,74,376. Of these, 4,08,764 people have lost their lives. The number of active cases has come down to 4,50,899. Corona cases have been declining in the country for several weeks, and the situation is getting better.