Mumbai: The Maharashtra Government, which expects the flattening of COVID-19 curve, faces twin challenges of curbing the increasing mucormycosis or black fungus cases and procure sufficient Amphotericin B vials needed urgently for treatment.
Food and Drug Administration Minister Dr Rajendra Shingane on Tuesday admitted that not only the rapid rise in Mucormycosis cases is a matter of worry but also short supply of Amphotericin B vials in the state.
“Against state’s demand of 20,000 vials, the Centre has made an allocation of 5,900 vials of Amphotericin B which is inadequate. The state has reported 3914 patients of black fungus while there are 421 deaths so far. Nagpur district has the highest number of patients with Black Fungus. There are 1059 patients in Nagpur district. There are 758 patients in Pune and 571 in Aurangabad,’’ said Dr Shingane. He added that Amphotericin B is an antifungal medication that fights infections caused by fungus. Amphotericin B is used to treat serious, life-threatening fungal infections
Dr Shingane’s statement came on a day when the Centre in its presentation admitted that black fungus is spreading rapidly in the country. Currently, 20,000 patients are undergoing treatment in the country.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in his address to the citizens said ‘’Now we have a new devil to deal with the Black Fungus. Our doctors have told us that one of the main reasons for this could be steroid use. The Task Force is closely keeping a track of this.’’
However, Dr Shingane said the state has adequate supply of Remdesivir vials as there is a stock of 3 lakh injections available in the state. He admitted that the demand for Remdesivir vials has declined due to fall in the number of critical COVID-19 patients.
