Another mucormycosis death took the black fungus toll in Jharkhand to 30 on Wednesday, while two more suspected mucormycosis patients got hospitalised on the day for further diagnosis, figures released by the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) highlighted.
The casualty reported on Wednesday was the first death caused by the fungal infection in Giridih, a district which has reported five confirmed and two suspected cases of Covid-induced mucormycosis so far. As per IDSP data, the state has so far reported 98 confirmed and 60 suspected cases of mucormycosis. At least 81 patients have recovered from black fungus in the State so far.
Mucormycosis is a rare but lethal disease caused by exposure to mucor mould found in soil, plants, manure and decaying fruits and vegetables. The disease has an average fatality rate of 50 per cent and Covid patients who were administered high dosage of steroids, especially those suffering from diabetes, are more prone to this fungal infection, say doctors.
Jharkhand on Wednesday vaccinated over 90,000 residents against Covid-19. As per provisional data released by the National Health Mission (NHM), the first dose of vaccine was administered to 56,166 residents, while 34,655 residents received their second jab.
At least 68 people were found infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Jharkhand, while 71 Covid patients recovered from the viral infection on the day, bringing the active caseload in the state down to 344, a bulletin released by the NHM highlighted.
As many as nine districts — West Singhbhum, Simdega, Saraikela, Palamu, Pakur, Khunti, Giridih, Garhwa and Dumka — did not report fresh Covid cases on the day. At least 14 Covid recoveries against 11 cases brought the active caseload down to 47 in Ranchi, while the active caseload in East Singhbhum dropped to 50 as the district reported eight recoveries against four fresh cases of infection.
Jharkhand on Wednesday tested swab samples of 49,245 residents and 0.13 per cent of them were found infected by coronavirus. As per government data, over 3.46 lakh people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the State so far and 98.42 per cent of them have recovered, while 1.47 per cent of patients could not survive.
No fresh Covid casualties were reported in Jharkhand on Wednesday and the Covid toll remained 5120. The growth rate of Covid-19 was 0.01 per cent against the national average of 0.09 per cent, while the doubling rate in the state was 5403.12 days against the national doubling rate of 737.01 days.