Now, a serious bed crisis for black fungus patients in Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal : A serious crisis of beds has cropped up in Madhya Pradesh during the treatment of black fungus-infected patients hardly within 20 days of the deadly scourge rearing its ugly head in the state. In Bhopal’s Hamidia Hospital, there are only 90 beds, but 100 patients have been admitted leading to a bed crisis.

However, the doctors say that black fungal infection is not a contagious disease unlike Covid, so the unoccupied beds of the Covid ward should be used for admission of black fungus-infected patients as the scourge does not spread from person to person.

Separate wards with separate operation theatres (OTs) have been constituted for treatment of black fungal infection in all the five medical colleges—Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Gwalior and Rewa. Besides, a team of doctors—ENT, medicine, ophthalmology and neurology—is working for treatment of black fungus-infected persons.

Not a contagious disease

“In Hamidia Hospital, Bhopal, there are 90 beds in two wards but 100 patients have been admitted here, so there’s a crisis of beds. But the Hamidia Hospital administration should use the unoccupied beds of Covid wards for admission of black fungus-infected patients as there’s no harm in it since the disease isn’t contagious’, said Dr ID Chaurasia, neurologist, Hamidia Hospital.

Limited beds in wards reserved for black fungal treatment

“The crisis of beds has happened because the wards which were initially set up for treatment of black fungal infection have a limited number of beds. As black fungal infection isn’t a contagious disease, unlike Covid-19, it doesn’t spread from person to person. So, the unused or unoccupied beds in the Covid wards should be used for black fungus-infected patients to resolve the crisis in Madhya Pradesh. The government should intensify nasal endoscopy as the disease will be detected in the early stages and it’ll be easier then to check its spread. The government is starting treatment in other medical colleges, such as Vidisha, Chhindwara, Khandwa and others which have recently been opened in addition to the five existing medical colleges in Madhya Pradesh’, said Dr SP Dubey, ENT and member of the task force constituted by the state government.