Rajasthan govt issues order for 2,500 vials of anti-black fungus drug

The Rajasthan government has issued orders to purchase 2,500 vials of a drug used in the treatment of black fungus, Health Minister Raghu Sharma said on Monday.Recently, several states have reported a rise in black fungus or mucormycosis cases among COVID-19 patients.

The Rajasthan government has issued orders to purchase 2,500 vials of a drug used in the treatment of black fungus, Health Minister Raghu Sharma said on Monday.

Recently, several states have reported a rise in black fungus or mucormycosis cases among COVID-19 patients. The Rajasthan government is in talks with eight big pharmaceutical companies and is also going to issue a global tender for procuring amphotericin-B, the minister said and added that so far, 100 cases of the fungal infection have been reported in the state.

Sharma said the state government has ordered purchase of 2,500 vials of amphotericin-B. Mucormycosis is caused by a group of moulds known as mucormycetes present naturally in the environment. It spreads through the nose and affects other parts of the body such as the eyes. Diabetics are more vulnerable to the infection.

Rajasthan has received only 700 vials from the Centre. The Union health ministry has agreed to provide 50,000 vials to the state, Sharma said. The Centre should distribute the medicine to states in proportion of patients so that people can be saved from this serious disease, the minister said.

Sharma said it has been seen that after COVID-19, diabetes patients fall prey to black fungus due to prolonged stay in ICU, excessive use of steroid drugs and weak immune system. Instructions are being issued to give limited amount of steroids during COVID treatment in government and private hospitals, he said.

Sharma said a separate ward has been made for treatment of people suffering form black fungus in Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)