Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Government doctors in Madhya Pradesh will hold consultations with their counterparts in the US on how to deal with cases of mucormycosis fungal infection among COVID-19 patients, state Medical Education Minister Vishwash Kailash Sarang said on Wednesday.
In some cases of mucormycosis, also known as black fungus, a rare but serious infection, the affected part has to be surgically removed, Sarang told PTI. According to health experts, the symptoms of mucormycosis include headache, fever, pain under the eyes, nasal or sinus congestion and partial loss of vision.
A number of cases of the fungal infection among COVID-19 patients have also been reported in neighbouring Maharashtra and Gujarat. "A team of doctors from the government-run Hamidia Hospital in Bhopal will interact with their counterparts in the US via video conference to discuss steps to check the spread of the fungal infection," Sarang said.
The minister held a meeting with officials of various government and private medical colleges on Tuesday evening and it was suggested that a protocol be laid down for the treatment of the fungal infection.
They also discussed ways to deal with the possible third wave of coronavirus. Sarang said US-based infectious diseases expert Dr Manoj Jain, who hails from Madhya Pradesh, also took part in the meeting and gave suggestions on how to check the spread of COVID-19, its treatment protocol and focus areas during the third wave.
Health experts recently warned of a third wave of the coronavirus infection in the country, which could also affect children. Sarang said during the meeting, they discussed arrangements to be made to check the viral infection among children and to ensure availability of necessary medicines and resources to deal with the problem.
They also discussed steps to raise the number of beds in the Intensive Care Unit (ICUs) and High Dependency Units (HDUs) for COVID-19 patients and ways to develop an effective IT solution to monitor patients under home isolation, he said.
Discussions were also held on preparing a training module for final year students of medical, dental and nursing streams to rope them for treating COVID-19 patients, he said.
It was also suggested to train patients who have recovered from COVID-19, NCC personnel and NGO members and deploy them for dealing with the coronavirus situation during the third wave, the minister said.
