Hyderabad: Telangana is among the top five states with the highest number of mucormycosis (aka black fungus) infections reported, the union health ministry said on Wednesday.
According to the union ministry of health, there are around 11,717 black fungus cases in all over India. Gujarat topped the list with 2,859 cases, followed by Maharashtra with 2,770 cases, Andhra Pradesh with 768 cases and Madhya Pradesh with 752 cases.
Telangana stands in fifth position with as many as 744 cases.
Mucormycosis is a curable disease if caught at an early stage and treated properly. Therefore, the ministry of chemical and fertilizers on Wednesday provided with extra 1890 vials of Amphotericin B, which is currently one of the most reliable treatments for black fungus.
Meanwhile, DME Dr K Ramesh Reddy said there are equally effective alternative medicines like Posaconazole injections and tablets that are being used in neighboring states, and should also be used in Telangana as there is a short supply for Amphotericin B.
Reddy also mentioned that they have received about 300 to 400 applications in which only a few hundreds of vials of the antifungal injection were issued to the state, as there is no chance to give upto 150 vials to everyone.
“So, make those drugs available to people which are equally effective rather than just stopping the treatment,” he said.
The central government has declared black fungus as a notifiable disease while 11 states have already declared it as an epidemic. Telangana too declared black fungus notified under the Epidemics Act.