188 black fungus cases so far in Punjab; 40 not Covid-linked

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 27

With as many as 188 cases of mucormycosis (black fungus) reported so far in the state, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today ordered ramp-up of stocks of alternative drugs to treat the disease in view of the shortage of Amphotericin B injection.

With this, Punjab will be the first state to make effective use of alternative medicines to treat the disease.

With only 880 more Liposomal Amphotericin B injections expected, the Chief Minister stressed the need to strengthen alternative drug stocks, as recommended by the expert group constituted by his government to deal with the crisis.

Stressing the need to ensure that every patient had a chance to recover from black fungus, a disease reportedly caused by overuse of steroids in Covid patients, especially those suffering from diabetes, the CM said along with efforts to get more of the drug, the state government had already made available alternative drugs Itraconazole (4,000 tablets) and Posaconazole (500 tablets), as suggested by the expert group.

Health Secretary Hussan Lal said of the 188 cases, 40 were not related to Covid, while 148 were of infected persons, with 133 having been on steroid therapy and 122 on oxygen support prior to onset of mucormycosis.

As many as 154 had diabetes, 56 were immunocompromised, and 47 had comorbidities. A total of 156 are currently under treatment, nine have been cured while 23 have died.

Group head Dr KK Talwar said help was being taken from foreign specialists to deal with the problem. Medical Education Secretary DK Tiwari said maximum cases had been reported at Patiala GMC (16), followed by Amritsar GMC (10), Faridkot GMC (8) and Mohali GMC (2).