India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has warned Indians to take extra precautions;as the country’s coronavirus outbreak is spreading fast to rural areas.
This, according to officials, is particularly concerning because almost two-thirds;of the country’s nearly 1.4 billion people live in those areas.
Speaking at a farmers’ convention, Modi urged people living in rural areas,;village councils and state governments to come together to meet the challenge.
“We have lost a lot of dear ones. I am feeling the pain people are suffering,” he said.
The PM also revealed that the army, navy and the air force have;joined the fight against the pandemic in the country.
Meanwhile, India’s Health Ministry reported earlier today, 14th May that 343,144 new cases were;recorded in the past 24 hours, a slight decline from the day before. Another 4,000 people died in the past 24 hours, raising total fatalities to 262,317 since the pandemic began.
The country has;been gripped by the ‘B.1.617’ Covid-19 mutation, which has;been;classified as;a “variant of concern” by;the World heath organization. According to officials, there is;“some available information to suggest increased transmissibility of B.1.617”.
‘Black Fungus’ complication adds to India’s COVID woes
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has also informed doctors to look out for signs of Mucormycosis or “Black Fungus” in COVID-19 patients as hospitals report a rise in cases of the rare but potentially fatal infection.
The ICMR admonished that doctors treating COVID-19 patients, those with compromised immune systems and diabetic patients should watch for early symptoms including sinus pain or nasal blockage on one side of the face, one-sided headache, swelling, or numbness, toothache and loosening of teeth.
According to health officials, the disease, which can lead to blackening or discoloration over the nose, blurred or double vision, chest pain, breathing difficulties, and coughing blood, is;strongly linked to diabetes.
And diabetes, officials say, can in turn be worsened by steroids such as dexamethasone, used to treat severe COVID-19.
Touching on the Black Fungus infections, David Denning, a Professor at Britain’s Manchester University and an expert at the Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections (GAFFI) charity averred that “There have been cases reported in several other countries – including the UK, U.S., France, Austria, Brazil and Mexico, but the volume is much bigger in India.
“And one of the reasons is lots and lots of diabetes, and lots of poorly controlled diabetes.”
India has not published national data on Mucormycosis but media reports have pointed to cases in Maharashtra and its capital Mumbai, and Gujarat.
Dr. P Suresh, head of ophthalmology at Fortis Hospital in Mulund, Mumbai, told reporters that his hospital had treated at least 10 such patients in the past two weeks. This, he stated, is roughly twice as many as in the entire year before the pandemic.
He also noted that all the patients had been infected with COVID-19 and most were diabetic or had received immunosuppressant drugs. Some have died, and some have lost their eyesight, he added.
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