Telangana: Drug shortage hits ‘black fungus’ fight

Centre allots just 1,050 vials of Amphotericin-B for TS even as cases rise rapidly

Hyderabad: Within months of the second Covid wave, the fungal infection mucormycosis has emerged a threat prompting the Union Health Ministry to declare it as an epidemic and notifiable disease. While cases of fungal infections are rising, physicians and patients in Telangana are fighting the disease without the most important weapon in their arsenal i.e. the antifungal drug Amphotericin-B.

With procurement and distribution of the antifungal drug being fully centralised, the Union Health Ministry has allotted just 1,050 vials of Amphotericin-B for Telangana to treat the rapidly rising number of black fungus cases.

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Senior officials here say the supply of Amphotericin is only expected to improve by June and till that time, the lives of hundreds of patients, not only from Telangana but also from many neighbouring States, are at stake.

Treatment of mucormycosis involves multiple measures including removal of the infected part, which is known as debridement of the affected tissue and control of the risk factors like diabetes. However, the treatment is not complete till patients are administered with multiple vials of Amphotericin-B.

Typically, each recovering patient requires anywhere between 40 and 60 vials and the present 1,050 vials in Telangana are just about enough to treat 20 to 25 patients.

“At present, the best solution is to quickly increase the internal production of the drug and find ways to import the drug. There is a need to save the lives of patients,” senior ENT specialists in Hyderabad point out.

According to the latest update on the availability of Amphotericin, the Union Health Ministry on Friday said that things could improve by June end. The production of Amphotericin has been ramped up by three times i.e. 3.8 lakh vials are in production and another 3 lakh are being imported. So, in the coming weeks, a total of 6.80 lakh vials of the drug will be available in the country.

However, going by past experience, public health officials here have doubts over the way the limited drug will be allocated, even if its availability improves. “Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had to directly take up the issue of shortage of Remdesivir and medical oxygen with Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, which eventually is bearing fruit,” officials here add.

Also read:

Telangana logs 3,464 cases, 25 deaths on Friday

KCR inspects Warangal MGM Hospital, assures all support to patients

KTR’s team works relentlessly to ensure timely help to patients

MSN Labs launches Posaconazole to treat black fungus

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