111 mucormycosis patients being treated in Mumbai: BMC

SRCC hospital at Haji Ali. Representation Pic/Bipin Kokate

So far, 111 mucormycosis patients are being treated in Mumbai, but most of them are from outside the city, the BMC said on Wednesday. The rare, black fungal infection has created panic as it is a life-threatening disease.

Prabhakar Shinde, the BJP group leader in the BMC, raised the matter during the standing committee meeting on Wednesday.

He sought from the civic administration information about the preparedness against mucormycosis, including precautions taken during Covid-19 treatment to prevent the spread of the disease and the protocol to treat it.

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Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani said, "Currently, 111 mucormycosis patients are admitted in various civic-run hospitals. Out of them, 32 are in Sion hospital, 34 in KEM hospital, 38 in Nair hospital and 7 in Cooper Hospital. But most of these patients are from outside Mumbai."

He said mucormycosis has not been found to be contagious. "Patients with mucormycosis are advised to be kept under observation for 8 to 12 weeks," Kakani added. The BMC has started the process for procurement of amphotericin B injection and other medicines needed in mucormycosis treatment.

Until then, hospitals have been instructed to purchase locally. The BMC said doctors at Covid-19 hospitals will be trained to attend to mucormycosis patients from Saturday, and a group of expert doctors has been formed to treat them. Instructions have been given to avoid use of steroid/tocilizumab in Covid-19 treatment, especially for diabetic patients, Kakani said.