Black fungus: Consignment of 200,000 Amphotericin B doses reaches India

As India is battling with rising cases of Black Fungus, an additional consignment of 200,000 AmBisome (Amphotericin B injection), used in black fungus treatment arrived in the country in the early hours of Sunday. According to the Indian ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, more such consignments are expected in the future. The Centre has ramped up production of Black Fungus drug amid a surge of black fungus cases as India battles the second COVID wave. 

The recent consignment arrived from American biopharmaceutical company, Gilead Sciences, informed ambassador Sandhu. 

'Get Amphotericin B from anywhere in the world': PM Modi

Realising the need of the hour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday, instructed officials to get Liposomal Amphotericin B injections, used to treat the post-treatment complication, from wherever it is available across the world. After the nation reported nearly 11,717 cases of 'Black Fungus' with Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana topping the list, the union government came forward with a slew of measures. 

 'Amphotericin B' exempted from tax

 At Friday's meeting, the Centre exempted the import duty on 'Amphotericin B,'  an essential for Black Fungus treatment. The fungal infection cases are largely reported in COVID-19 patients due to high dose of antibiotics. Medical experts have enlightened that the cases of fungal infections are on the rise due to excessive use of COVID-19 antibodies which are eliminating important and symbiotic bacteria from the body. These bacterias are significant for eradicating fungus from human body. 

Fungal infection scare

Recently, a new variant of fungal infection, 'cream fungus' was also detected from a patient in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur. According to the Union Health Ministry, mucormycosis is a fungal infection that mainly affects people who are on medication and reduces their ability to fight environmental pathogens. Sinuses or lungs of such individuals get affected after fungal spores are inhaled from air and it may turn fatal if not cared for. 
Symptoms of Black Fungus include nose obstruction, swelling in the eyes or cheeks, and black crusts in the nose. At least 1,800 cases have been reported in India, as per the latest data.
In a positive update, IIT-Hyderabad recently developed oral drug for the treatment of fungal infection.