In Maharashtra, at least 90 people who recovered from Covid-19 have died from a rare black fungal infection as the alarming spread of the infection is labelled as an “epidemic”.
According to The Telegraph, there are currently 850 people hospitalised with mucormycosis in Maharashtra, although the authorities have warned they will have to treat 5,000 patients over the next few months.
Without early treatment, the black fungus has a mortality rate of 50 per cent, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Preventing, and doctors in India are now being forced to remove the eyes or jaws of patients to save lives.
“We have seen more cases of black fungus in the past week than we normally treat in two years,” tweeted Dr Arvinder Singh Soin, a leading Indian doctor in Delhi.
The surge is being blamed on the rampant, long-term prescription of steroids to treat Covid-19 infections by India’s overwhelmed doctors. Only 41 cases had been detected among Covid-19 patients worldwide until March.
