State lists Mucormycosis as emergency disease

Mumbai: The state public health department, on Friday, listed Mucormycosis in their schedule to be treated as an emergency disease. The disease – which has a fatality rate of 54% – mostly affects the eye turning many patients blind. As experts are predicting a fourth Covid-19 wave, hence it was listed in the schedule.

The listing will help the patients to get free medical aid from the state government and claim their insurance.

Principal Secretary of the Public Health Department Sanjay Khandhare said, “Cases of Mucormycosis have increased because of Covid-19 treatment. This was never included in earlier categories of diseases. As medical experts are predicting a fourth wave, hence, we listed it now.”

It has mainly spread among diabetic patients during the treatment of Covid-19. The disease – previously called zygomycosis – is a serious but rare fungal infection caused by a group of moulds called mucormycetes.

Mucormycosis lives in the environment and mainly affects people who have health problems or take medicines that lower the body’s ability to fight germs and sickness. It commonly affects the sinuses or the lungs after inhaling fungal spores from the air. It can also occur on the skin after a cut, burn, or other types of skin injury.

Dr Avinash Supe, former dean of KEM hospital who is chairman of the Covid death reduction committee said, “ The government will now take steps to treat it. Usually, immunity drastically decreases in patients. In many cases, people have lost their eyes permanently.’’

The symptoms of mucormycosis depend on where in the body the fungus is growing. Dubbed a life-threatening infection, the mortality rate of the disease stands at 54%, as per a peer-reviewed medical journal.

Dr Hemant Deshmukh who was in charge of identifying Mucormycosis, control and logistics of medicine in the state said, “In extreme cases, it will be easier for patients to get medical aid from the government and get claims from insurance.”

The health department official said that many persons who suffered from mucormycosis had difficulties in getting insurance claims and this listing will be helpful to give free treatment under Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana

Mucormycosis needs to be treated with prescription antifungal medicine, usually amphotericin B, posaconazole, or isavuconazole. Often, mucormycosis requires surgery to cut away the infected tissue.