In Delhi, There Are More Black Fungus Infections Than COVID Cases

Even though the deadly second wave of coronavirus is slowly receding, black fungus seems to be wreaking havoc in many states, including Delhi. The city recorded over 1,650 cases of mucormycosis or black fungus till July 6, according to the official government data. Among these, there were 952 people who were still carrying the infection till the above-mentioned date. During the same duration, Delhi had 833 active COVID cases.

This indicates that there were more cases of mucormycosis than COVID present in the city. Out Of the 952 active cases of black fungus, 402 patients received treatment at private hospitals, 302 at the state government-run hospitals and 248 at central government-run facilities, data showed. At the time, there were 833 active COVID cases in Delhi. By July 12, the number of active cases declined further to 693 as the capital reported 45 new COVID cases.

Treatment Of Black Fungus

The figures also said that the total requirement of injections of Amphotericin B, a drug used to treat serious fungal infections like black fungus, till July 6, stood at 150,000. Usually, a patient needs 120-150 injections before recovering from the infection. Treatment for it is very costly as each injection costs about ₹ 6,000-7,000, reported The Times of India.

More Than 300 Deaths In Karnataka

As of July 9, as many as 3,491 people were found to be suffering from black fungus in Karnataka. Bengaluru Urban district reported 1,109 cases, followed by Dharwad with 279, Vijayapura with 208 and Kalaburagi with 196. A total of 303 people lost their lives to the infection, with a fatality rate of 8.6 per cent. About 34 per cent of the deaths reported in Karnataka were from Bengaluru. In fact, the case fatality rate of the black fungal infection is higher than COVID's fatality rate in Karnataka which is 1.2 per cent.

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