NEW DELHI

India has so far reported 40,845 cases of a deadly fungal infection known as mucormycosis, the country's Health Minister said on Monday.

During the second devastating wave of pandemic, the country has recorded a huge increase in mucormycosis cases – a fungal disease with a high mortality rate that is commonly referred to as “black fungus.”

To date, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said some 3,129 people have died of the infection.


Vardhan also said that some 34,940 of the total mucormycosis patients (85.5%) had coronavirus, 26,187 (approx. 64.11%) were co-morbid for diabetes, while 21,523 (52.69%) of those infected were on steroids.

"13,083 patients were in the age group 18-45 (32%), 17,464 were in the age group 45-60 (42%) while 10,082 (24%) patients were 60+ years of age," according to a Health Ministry statement.


With COVID-19 cases in the country are declining across the country, doctors maintain that the rate of mucormycosis infections has also gone down.

Mucormycosis is a fungal infection which mainly affects people who have a weak immune system causing loss of eyesight, removal of the nose and jaw bone.

The diabetic patients have been underlined as high risk people by experts from All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).