First death due to ‘black fungus’ reported in West Bengal

A 32-year-old woman died of mucormycosis, commonly associated with Covid-19 infection, while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Kolkata in the first instance of death due to "black fungus" in West Bengal, a state Health Department official said today.

Shampa Chakraborty, a resident of Haridevpur in south Kolkata, was admitted to the state-run Sambhunath Pandit Hospital with Covid-19, he said, adding that she died Friday morning while battling mucormycosis.

At present, five patients are undergoing treatment for the disease in the state, the official said adding "all these patients are from neighbouring Bihar and Jharkhand states," our New Delhi correspondent reports.

The state Health Department has already constituted a committee of experts to deal with cases of black fungus which has been declared an epidemic by the Indian government.

Across India, the total number of black fungus patients is approximately 8,848, according to an official estimate today.