New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that the city now has around 944 cases of black fungus. The CM added that the drug used to treat the disease — Amphotericin-B — is in short supply.
In fact, the city and the country at large have been grappling with a shortage of the drug, to resolve which, considering the time constraint, even doubling India's production capacity will not suffice, the Delhi High Court had noted last week.
CM Kejriwal on Monday said that of the total mucormycosis cases in the city, around 300 were being treated at hospitals run by the Central government and the others - around 650 are being treated at Delhi government hospitals.
"There are 300 cases of black fungus in central government hospitals and around 650 in Delhi government hospitals. However, the supply of injections is low. We had received 1,000 injections the day before yesterday, but did not receive any injections yesterday. It takes 3-4 injections per person per day," he said.
Significantly, according to court submissions, while the Centre has set in motion a plan to speedily import the drug, the allocation to Delhi in relation to its requirement has been abysmal. Several patients in the city have lost their eyes to the infection due to the unavailability of the drug at hospitals. One such patient had even presented their case before the Delhi High Court.