Hamirpur woman 1st black fungus case in Himachal Pradesh

Dinesh Kanwar

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Hamirpur, May 20

Himachal registered its first case of mucormycosis (black fungus) today. A 52-year old woman from Hamirpur was diagnosed with the disease at the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMC), Shimla.

Symptoms

The symptoms of black fungus include pain and redness around eyes or nose, fever, headache, coughing, shortness of breath, bloody vomits

Precautions

• Blood sugar levels should be controlled and steroids should not be used indiscriminately for the purpose of Covid treatment
• Caution should be taken while wearing medical/surgical/N-95 or cotton masks multiple times
• Masks get wet due to humidity in our breathing. If these are used for multiple days without changing or washing, a perfect atmosphere is created for the growth of fungus. So masks should be washed daily, dried in sunlight and ironed

According to Medical Superintendent Dr Janak Raj, she had tested positive for Covid on May 4 and was referred to the Nerchowk hospital on May 8 with the complaint of breathlessness. The woman was referred to the IGMC yesterday. “Her condition is stable,” he said.

While the news has sent shock waves across the district, Dr Anil Verma, Covid nodal officer, said the treatment for the disease was available and people need not panic.

Meanwhile, a government spokesperson said the state had already issued advisory regarding the prevention and management of the black fungus disease in hospitals. “The Director, Health, has been asked to take stock of anti-fungal drugs like amphotericin B in their institutions,” he said.

As per the evidence-based advisory issued by the ICMR, uncontrolled diabetes, immune suppression by steroids, a prolonged ICU stay, co-morbidities post transplant/malignancy are the predisposing factors for the disease.