J&K allocated 100 more vials of Amphotericin-B to treat Black Fungus

Amid black fungus cases being reported in Jammu and Kashmir, the central government has allocated 100 more vials of Amphotericin-B for treating mucormycosis to the UT. Earlier, J&K had been allocated 50 such vials on May 26.

The central government on May 27 allocated 80,000 vials of Amphotericin-B to all the states and UTs, a day earlier it had allocated 29,250 such vials.

J&K has reported ten cases of black fungus so far. While the disease has caused two deaths, remaining eight patients are undergoing treatment at government hospitals in the UT.

According to doctors, Amphotericin-B is used to treat mucormycosis, also known as Black Fungus, which damages the nose, eyes, sinuses, and sometimes even the brain.

As per government data on Wednesday, India has recorded 11,717 cases of “black fungus” or mucormycosis so far with Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana topping the list.  Maharashtra has reported 2,770 black fungus cases, Gujarat 2,859, Andhra Pradesh 768, Madhya Pradesh 752, and Telangana 744.

Mucormycosis primarily affects people recovering from COVID-19 and has been steadily rising across the country. Several states and UT of J&K as well have declared black fungus an epidemic.

Its treatment requires a multidisciplinary approach from experts consisting eye and general surgeons, neurosurgeons, ENT specialists, and dental maxillofacial surgeons, etc..