With three more deaths due to mucormycosis, commonly known as black fungus infection on Wednesday, the number of total death toll in West Bengal due to the disease has reached 11. All the persons who died of black fungus on Wednesday were men aged 6, 42, and 62.
Two more cases of black fungus were recorded on Wednesday taking the total number of mucormycosis cases in the state to 45. Mostly, the disease is being detected among patients who are recovering or have recovered from COVID-19.
On Wednesday, symptoms of black fungus were observed in six persons of the state, however, their final reports are yet to come.
In West Bengal, a 32-year-old woman was the first person who died of mucormycosis on May 22. West Bengal has already declared black fungus a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Act. The state government has issued separate guidelines for the prevention of black fungus cases.
According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), 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. A set of micro-organisms known as ‘mucormycetes’ cause mucormycosis. The micro-organisms responsible for the disease are present naturally in the environment. They are mostly seen in the soil and in decaying organic matter like leaves, compost, and piles.
In India, nearly 29,000 cases of black fungus have been reported so far.
Recently, the Central government has asked states to give top priority to “young patients” in the treatment of mucormycosis, a disease with a high mortality rate. Last week, the ‘National Task Force on Covid-19’ has sent an advisory to states specifying the same while terming mucormycosis an issue of public health .concern
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