3.6% of corona patients hospitalized had fungal or bacterial infections: ICMR study

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ICMR-fungus

New Delhi: In the second wave of Corona, cases of Black Fungus are increasing. Meanwhile, a report by the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) (ICMR Study) states that in the previous wave of Covid, at least 3.6% of the hospitalized patients had second-grade bacterial and fungal infections. It is being told that out of the ten hospitals from which the data was collected, the death rate due to second-rate infection has increased by 56.7 percent as compared to the last time. Data shows that in one of these hospitals, the death rate due to this infection reached 78.9 percent.

Dr. Kamini Walia, the scientist who created this research, says – We found that 78 percent of second-rate infections are due to hospital conditions. The infection starts two days after admission and most of the samples have gram-negative bacteria which suggests that they are born in the hospital due to infection. This may be because the epidemic-related policies of hospitals have been ignored in the epidemic. Wearing PPE kits in double gloves and heat is not possible to cleanse the hands.

The hospital should take appropriate steps to overcome this infection
Walia says that it is important that hospitals take appropriate steps to control this infection. Otherwise, it is very difficult to treat pathogen Klebsiella pneumonia and bitumen, which cause this infection, as it gets stronger with time and after Covid, it becomes more difficult to deal with them.

ICMR-fungus

Interestingly, hospitals are not even registering cases of fungal infections like mucormycosis which thrive in the second wave. One of the ten hospitals that were included in this research, Dr. Chand Wattal, head of the microbiology department of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, says – this is a double whammy. When such infections are mixed with Covid, then the death rate will increase. Cases of mucormycosis have increased with the use of steroids. Steroids are now missing from the market during the peak of the second wave. This has never happened before.

Excessive drug use can cause problems
Not only this, this research warns that antimicrobial resistance may increase with the use of more medicines in the coming times. The World Health Organization classifies antibiotics into three categories – access drugs that withstand common pathogens and have low immunity. Watch drugs that are important for treatment and have high immunity and reserve drugs that are used as the last feed when the infection is fully confirmed.

Dr. Walia says – 74 percent are in the antimicrobial watch and reserve category. The ten hospitals from which the data was taken, have been trained on infection control, imagine what is the condition of other hospitals. Interestingly, no guidelines have been set by ICMR regarding the use of antimicrobials on Covid patients.

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