Tamil Nadu is one of the worst affected states in India by the COVID-19 pandemic with a high caseload and surging active number of cases. The state government has been in a war foot to beat the virus spread and while the state is driving through the complete lockdown to tackle the pandemic, it has been reporting a surge in the cases of Mucormycosis- Black Fungus infection for the past few days, which left the state in a fret. 

The state is in a twin battle to combat the Coronavirus and the Black Fungus infection, the deadliest disease found mostly in the Corona hit patients. The state government has recently announced the Black Fungus Infection as a notifiable disease and installed a team of experts to study and recommend the measures to curb the infection. The health department has directed the hospitals in the state to set up separate wards to treat the patients who had contracted the fungal infection. 

While addressing the reporters on Tuesday, Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said that 181 cases of Black Fungus infection have been reported in the state till Monday, and efforts are taken to subdue the spread of the infection along with containing the COVID-19 spread. By revealing that most of the infected patients are treated in CMC Vellore, the health secretary said that all the medical college hospitals across the state have been asked to keep a separate ward with 15 to 30 beds to treat those affected by the fungal infection. 

He further said that the affected patients will be treated by experts from the ENT and Ophthalmology departments. Making a comparison with other states over the spread of black fungus infection, Radhakrishnan said that the situation in Tamil Nadu is not as worse as in the states like Rajasthan and Gujarat and he added that the state government has pressured the Center for medicine to treat the infection.

According to reports, Tamil Nadu Health Minister M Subramanian had earlier said that the government has formed a multidisciplinary expert medical team with ten members to identify the reason behind COVID19 patients getting infected by Mucormycosis. The minister also said that there is good cooperation from the Center in handling the pandemic in the state. Subramanian said that the Chief Minister has been pressing for requirements with the Prime Minister and Union Ministers for getting the state's requirements. 

The experts attribute the resurgence of the Black Fungus Infection to the severity of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several states in India are reporting cases of Mucormycosis, which is caused by the fungus Mucor. People can get infected by the fungal disease if they come in contact with the black fungus spores in the environment and their immediate ambience. 

The experts say that people who are tested positive and recovered from the COVID-19 viral infection and people who are suffering from diabetes mellitus are largely susceptible to the black fungus infection. According to official data, the infection can also develop in the skin after the fungus enters the skin through a cut, abrasion, burn, or other types of injuries.  

The doctors say that such skin injuries must be get treated in time and though the fungal infection is not a human-to-human transmitting disease like COVID-19, the disease has to be treated in time. According to reports, the symptoms of the black fungus infection include Nasal blockage, facial or cheekbone pain, discolouration of the nose, congestion or redness, and swelling of the eyes, and impaired vision. 

In order to treat the black fungus infection, the state governments have deployed measures to procure Amphotericin-B injection. On Tuesday, Tamil Nadu has reported 34,285 fresh COVID-19 cases, 28,745 discharges, and 468 deaths, the highest single-day death rate recorded by the state since the outbreak began. Overall, Tamil Nadu has recorded 19,11,496 COVID-19 cases so far as of Tuesday of which 3,06,652 are active, 15,83,504 have been discharged, and 21,340 had succumbed to the viral infection.