The COVID-19 crisis in India seems to offer no good news at all.
India’s battle against the virus continues to be an uphill struggle, and the world is watching as its daily count and death toll climb steadily.
At this point, what more could happen to India?
A lot, apparently. The bad news never seem to end these days.
Both Current & Recovered COVID-19 Patients in India Are Contracting A Fatal Fungal Disease: Mucormycosis
CNA reports that an increasing number of COVID-19 patients, both former and current, are reporting a potentially lethal and highly uncommon fungal infection, as the nation struggles to contain the outbreak.
The infection, termed mucormycosis but informally called “black fungus” by Indian doctors, can be aggressive and dangerous in immunocompromised patients battling other infections.
According to Atul Patel, a member of Gujarat’s COVID-19 task force, recovering COVID-19 patients are almost four to five times more susceptible to the infection.
Particularly vulnerable groups include those with untreated diabetes, those who were subjected to steroids during their COVID-19 treatment, and those who stayed extensively in hospital ICUs.
About 300 cases have been detected in his state, which mandated state-run hospitals to isolate those infected.
Mucormycosis can be treated by surgically removing all infected tissue and administering anti-fungal drugs, but Yogesh Dabholkar, an ENT specialist in Mumbai, revealed that such a treatment plan can draw exorbitant costs.
Speaking to the Associated Press, he explained that supplies for drugs are also inadequate for the sudden spike in cases. Without treatment, the fungal infection can easily turn fatal.
How is India Faring Now?
The catastrophic outbreak has seen no signs of stopping, with Saturday (8 May) recording more than 4,000 COVID-19 deaths and more than 400,000 new cases for the first time, according to the South China Morning Post.
Many believe that the actual numbers, factoring in a potential reservoir of cases undetected by the threadbare public health system in India, are much higher.
The B1617 variant of the coronavirus is believed to have contributed to the rapid pace of infections, with experts interviewed warning that “the epidemiological features that we see in India today do indicate that it’s an extremely rapidly spreading variant.”
WHO has recently upgraded its designation of the variant to a “variant of concern”, indicating a considerably higher transmissibility.
Observers also pointed out that India’s spate of large social and political gatherings prior to the spike contributed to the outbreak, where the virus spread undetected until infection rates became too prevalent to ignore.
India has turned to vaccines in an effort to control the spread of the disease, but its vast population, sometimes living in inaccessible areas, presents an enormous challenge in immunisation. Despite being the world’s largest vaccine maker, India has so far only managed to vaccinate about 2% of its population.
The high infection numbers also pave way for more dangerous variants to occur in the future, including the possibility of mutations that dramatically decrease the efficacy of vaccines.
Feature Image: David A Litman / Shutterstock.com
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