In Madhya Pradesh, 4 Die Of Black Fungus, Injection Insufficient Reported

Four people from Damoh and Balaghat districts in Madhya Pradesh have died of Mucormycosis, a fungal infection seen in some Covid patients and those who had recovered, even as the state grapples with a insufficient of injections for its treatment, officials said on Friday.

Deepak Soni (39) and Nitin Jain (30), both from Damoh, died of the infection, also called Black Fungus, on Thursday, after recovering from Covid, officials said. Sheshram Kuchalahi (38) and Chinu Lalwani (42), the other two dead, were from Balaghat, the officials said.

“Soni died in a hospital in Nagpur, Jain died in Damoh. Four other patients of Mucormycosis have been sent to Bhopal for treatment,” Damoh ENT specialist Vishal Shukla told PTI.

Mr Seshram died in Balaghat district hospital on Thursday, said Lanji Block Medical Officer Dr Pradeep Gedam.

Mr Lalwani died in a facility in Nagpur on Wednesday after 10 days of treatment, said Balaghat Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr Manoj Pandey.

Damoh Chief Medical and Health Officer Sangeeta Trivedi and Mr Pandey admitted that their districts did not have Amphotericin-B injections used to treat Black Fungus patients.

Untimely, speaking to Covid crisis management groups from Indore on Thursday, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had said “Black Fungus treatment was expensive and adequate stocks of anti-fungal injections were not available in the country and are being imported.