Hyderabad: There are about 350 patients in Telangana who are suffering from Mucormycosis, the fungal infection among patients who have recovered or are recovering from Covid. Based on the case load of 350, the Union Ministry for Chemicals and Fertilisers on Saturday released 890 vials of Amphotericin-B, the vital anti-fungal drive needed for treatment.
These are apart from 1,050 vials allotted earlier by the Union Health Ministry. On Saturday, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers DV Sadananda Gowda announced that due to the rising cases of Mucormycosis across the country, 23,680 additional vials of Amphotericin-B were allocated to all States.
Gowda said 75 percent of Amphotericin-B vials were already allocated to AP, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan while the rest would be released after verification of patient numbers.
At present, according to health authorities here, there are about 50 Mucormycosis patients receiving treatment at Koti ENT Hospital and another 250 positive cases are admitted in private hospitals and government healthcare facilities in the districts.
Senior health officials also pointed out that in the coming days, the number of patients is likely to increase and reach the 500 mark.
“During the second wave, there is a large cohort of patients who have recently recovered and there is a possibility that a percentage of these cases will get the fungal infection,” they said.
The challenges in treating Mucormycosis patients in Telangana could become tougher in the coming days, as the case load of infections in the neighbouring States is also very high. In Maharashtra, there are 2,000 fungal infections, in Karnataka there are 500 cases while in Andhra Pradesh there are close to 950 cases.
There is a chance that a large number of patients from these States may travel to Hyderabad and neighbouring districts in Telangana for treatment, which will put a lot of pressure on the availability of the antifungal drug here.
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