India News | Black Fungus Claimed 17 Lives in Chhattisgarh So Far; 276 Cases Reported

Raipur, Jun 9 (PTI) A total of 17 patients have died due to mucormycosis or black fungus in Chhattisgarh so far, while 11 others suffering from this deadly infection succumbed due to different health factors, an official said.

Till Wednesday, the state reported 276 black fungus cases, the official said.

"As many as 28 people suffering from black fungus have died in Chhattisgarh so far. However, the cause of the death of 17 of them was black fungus, while 11 others succumbed due to different health-related factors," she said.

Black fungus, a serious fungal infection, is being reported mostly among those patients who are suffering from diabetes or immuno-compromised as a post-COVID complication after the second wave broke out in the state.

“The state has so far reported 276 cases of black fungus,” the public relations department official said, adding that of the 17 deaths, six were reported from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Raipur, seven from private hospitals and two from Raigarh medical college while one each from Sector-9 hospital Bhilai and Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS) Bilaspur.

Of the remaining 11 deaths, eight patients were admitted to AIIMS, two in Sector-9 hospital and one in a private hospital, she said.

Till now, 16 people have recovered from the infection, while surgeries were performed on 141 such patients, she added.

At present, 166 such patients are admitted to AIIMS Raipur, 31 in Sector-9 hospital and 30 in Medical College Hospital Raipur, she added.

The state government had already declared black fungus a notifiable disease and asked all health service providers (government and private) in the state to comply with guidelines issued by the state government and the Centre for screening, identification and management of the deadly infection, it said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)