Jharkhand On High Alert As Black Fungus Cases Rise

Ranchi has reported the highest number of cases at 46, of which 29 are confirmed and 17 are suspected, while eight patients have died.

With a rise in mucormycosis or black fungus cases in Jharkhand, the state government has directed the health machinery to be on high alert and extend all possible care to the affected people, an official said on Saturday. A total of 79 confirmed and 53 suspected cases have been reported to date in 18 of the 24 districts, he said. "The state has thus far registered 26 deaths due to mucormycosis, while 50 people have recovered from it," Ravi Shankar Shukla, Mission Director of the National Health Mission (NHM) Jharkhand, told PTI. Mucormycosis is a fungal infection leading to prolonged morbidity and even mortality among COVID-19 patients.