Black Fungus: India receives 50,000 vials of Amphotericin-B from US Pharma companies
Mumbai: India on Friday received 50,000 vials of Amphotericin-B, the drug used for the treatment of Mucormycosis, commonly known as Black Fungus, at Mumbai Airport. Mucormycosis has wreaked havoc across the country, especially in Covid-19 patients who have been administered heavy doses of steroids to treat the infection. Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers said that the ministry is putting in a lot of effort to meet the requirements of the drug in the country, after the increase in the cases of Black Fungus in the country. The minister tweeted, "50,000 vials of #AmphotericinB arrives at Mumbai Airport. We are putting in a lot of efforts to meet its requirement in the country. I am thankful to @GileadSciences and @MylanNews for their outstanding support in India's fight against COVID-19".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has instructed all concerned officials to arrange the drug from anywhere in the world on a war footing. "The PM had instructed officials to get this drug from anywhere it is available in the world. Indian missions across the world have been involved in securing supplies of this drug. It has been achieved with help of Gilead Sciences in USA," the sources said. On May 21, Delhi had a total of 200 cases of Black Fungus, the number of the infection witnessed a steep rise and reached 620 on May 26. After which the capital city declared Black Fungus as an epidemic disease. Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, and Bihar are other states to have declared the infection as an epidemic disease under the Epidemic Disease Act 1897. The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the Central government to consider a complete waiver of import duties of the drug Amphotericin B, used to treat Mucormycosis, for a limited period till the scarcity of drug is resolved in the country.
