Delhi high court urges government to 'ration' use of drugs to treat black fungus

THE Delhi high court has asked the government to ration use of drugs to counter black fungus infections as supply is scarce.

The court made its recommendation on Tuesday (1) on the treatment of mucormycosis, a potentially lethal infection running rampant through recovering Covid patients, as stocks of amphotericin B run low, reported The Times.

The drug is the only last-line defence against a condition that can kill as many as half of those infected if left untreated.

At least 59 people have died of the fungus and almost 750 patients are battling the infection in India's capital alone.

According to reports, the state government recently received only 1,000 doses of amphotericin B. Patients require three to five shots a day over several weeks to ensure the best chance of a full recovery.

The division bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh has urged the government to draw up a “protocol” based on the reality that a 35-year-old with young children should get the drug rather than someone in their eighties who was nearing the end of their lives, the report added.

The court added that it was unfair to leave the “cruel decision” to doctors and urged the government to create guidance.

Mucormycosis is a fungal infection that usually affects the mouth, nose, and eyes, and may then spread to the brain.

It is more common among people with impaired immunity, due to Covid-19, diabetes, kidney disease, liver or cardiac disorders, age-related issues, or those on medication for auto-immune diseases. The use of steroids on recovering Covid patients is also believed to raise the risk of infection.

Figures show that in May, India recorded the highest monthly count for fresh coronavirus infections of any country in the world, with over nine million infections and 119,189 deaths.

India on Wednesday (2) reported a daily rise in new coronavirus infections of 132,788 cases over the past 24 hours, while deaths rose by 3,207.

The South Asian nation's tally of infections now stands at 28.3 million, while the death toll has reached 335,102, health ministry data showed.