Cases of Covid-induced Mucormycosis, a lethal disease with 50 per cent fatality rate, have dropped significantly in Jharkhand, with the active caseload halving in the past four days and no fatalities occurring since July,data compiled by the health department highlighted on Monday.
As per figures released by the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), there were at least 16 patients of Black Fungus in Jharkhand on September 9. Cut to Monday, the count of patients dropped to eight.
At least six of these patients, according to IDSP, were from Ranchi, while Dhanbad and Gumla had one patient each.
With at least 66 reported cases, Ranchi was the worst-affected district in terms of Mucormycosis caseload and fatality in Jharkhand. At least 11 of the 66 patients died of black fungus in Ranchi, highlighted data shared by the IDSP.
On the other hand, East Singhbhum, a district that reported the second highest number of Black Fungus cases, did not have any active cases of this disease on Monday. As per IDSP data, this district reported at least 25 cases of Black Fungus in 2021 and at least five patients died of this disease there.
Besides a significant fall in the count of active cases, the state has also put a check on fatalities caused by the lethal disease. Mucormycosis has claimed at least 31 lives in Jharkhand so far, but no deaths caused by this disease were reported in August and September.
Several thousand cases of Covid-induced Mucormycosis were reported in India earlier this year and doctors claimed that use of high dosage steroids for treatment of severely-ill Covid patients was one of the reasons for the spike. In almost all these cases, the fungus affected either eyes, nose or brain of the patient. However, Jharkhand also reported rare cases of black fungus affecting lungs of Covid survivors. As many as 168 cases of black fungus have been reported in Jharkhand so far since the state notified this disease as an epidemic.
Cases of Covid-induced Mucormycosis rang alarm bells for Jharkhand earlier this year after several patients of this fungal infection were hospitalised within a span of a couple of weeks. The state also battled a crisis of medicines and hospital beds during this period.
Mucormycosis or Black Fungus is a rare infection caused by exposure to mucor mould found in soil, plants, manure and decaying fruits and vegetables.
The line of treatment includes surgery and administering anti-fungal drugs, mostly Amphotericin B.