As Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday talked about mucormycosis and how it is emerging as a new challenge, the Centre said it has taken a slew of measures to ensure mucormycosis medicine Amphotericin-B is available in the country adequately.
Be it ramping up the capacity of the existing manufacturers or allowing new manufacturers or enabling the import of the drug, the Centre is on its toes, it said. As a result of this “whole of government” approach, around 5.7 lakh Amphotericin-B vials will be available in the country in June.
The per-month availability will also go up as 11 manufacturers, including an importer, are now working towards increasing the supply of the drug in the country.
Mucormycosis is a fungal infection reported among Covid-19 patients, who have a high blood sugar level. Though the fungal infection is not a new occurrence, the number of cases has seen an unprecedented rise in India amid the ongoing second wave of the pandemic. The shortage of Amphotericin-B has added to the crisis, while prompted by the Centre, states and Union territories have now started notifying under the epidemic act. Separate wards, facilities are being brought in place to exclusively treat this fungal infection.
