"No case of Black Fungus in Cachar,” DC; “Too early to confirm,” says Dr Babul Bezbaruah

Today, an official of District Health Department announced in the official media group that there is a case of black fungus in Cachar and the patient is under treatment at Silchar Medical College and Hospital. The news started spreading like a wildfire as it was disseminated by the official spokesperson of the Cachar District Health Department.

However, the Principal of Silchar Medical College and Hospital confirmed that it is premature to declare a case of black fungus. Speaking with Barak Bulletin, he said, “There is a suspected case of mucormycosis in Silchar Medical College and Hospital. The patient has been admitted to SMCH with post Covid complications. We have done a nasal endoscopy, which is just an initial process. We cannot confirm it as a case of black fungus unless the culture is complete. The culture takes three days and only after the culture, a case of black fungus can be confirmed.”

The nasal endoscopy report was shared internally among the health departments. As the doctors are dealing with a notified disease, sharing data with District, State and Central authorities is mandatory. The endoscopy report showed symptoms of black fungus but those are not conclusive to declare it as a case of black fungus.

“There have been rumours of black fungus spread. I request public to not panic and believe in any such reports unless confirmed by subject experts from SMCH. As of today there are no cases of black fungus in the district,” state deputy commissioner of Cachar, Keerthi Jalli.

“DME (District Media Expert who revealed the news) is overworked and has shown a momentary lapse in judgement which is unfortunate as it is a very sensitive matter. Request for no witch hunting as well as he has been working very hard on ambulance and patient management as well,” the deputy commissioner covered up for the member of administration.

“The lab reports are yet to come. These are routine tests that SMCH performs as it is a teaching institution as well. If any such thing develops, administration and SMCH will announce it together and necessary measures will be taken accordingly. Rest assured we are all on the job to reduce the impact of the pandemic night and day,” the deputy commissioner concluded.