Black Fungus patient in Barak Valley doing fine, attendant dismisses Social Media post claiming SMCH's negligence

Alok Deb, a resident of the Karimganj district was the first-ever post-Covid patient suffering from Mucormycosis or ‘Black Fungus’ in Barak Valley. After initially getting admitted to the Silchar Medical College & Hospital (SMCH), the patient was later referred to the Guwahati Medical College & Hospital (GMCH) on June 5 for further treatment as SMCH doesn’t possess neurosurgical facilities. On June 20, after his condition improved, Alok Deb was discharged from the GMCH after which he returned to his hometown of Karimganj.

But yesterday, a social media post by a certain relative of Alok Deb, pleading for help, claimed that even though the patient was discharged from the GMCH after full recovery, Alok Deb is still suffering from severe symptoms like nasal bleeding and blood vomiting. The Facebook post also suggested that they have done everything as asked by the doctors to help the case of the patient recovering from Black Fungus, but his deteriorating health condition is worrying his family and relatives.

The post claimed, when the GMCH doctors were contacted regarding the deteriorating health condition, they told them to rather contact SMCH. According to the post, when the family members of Alok Deb contacted the Vice-principal of the SMCH Dr. Bhaskar Gupta, he in return told them to submit all of the patient’s health reports to the Karimganj Civil Hospital. Thus, the Facebook post pleaded for help and second opinions from netizens as the patient’s family seemed to have been in distress regarding Alok’s bad health condition.

Initially, the Facebook post had created a sense of worry and panic among people regarding the healthcare infrastructure of the valley, as the post had suggested that they were having difficulty establishing contact with the SMCH. But after getting in touch with Alok’s brother, Sushil Deb, he dismissed the claims made in the Facebook post and assured that they were able to get in touch with SMCH and received all the necessary medical intervention that was required to help Alok’s case. Sushil Deb, who also happens to be the official attendant of the patient as per GMCH’s records, said that they’re in constant touch with the doctors at the SMCH and they’re assisting the patient. Currently, the patient has gotten better and is doing fine.

He said, “Yesterday morning the patient suddenly started having nasal bleeding and also puked blood which was painful to bear. Initially, we were asked to coordinate with the Karimganj Civil Hospital and submit all of the medical reports there. But with the help and intervention of SMCH doctors, my brother is doing fine now and he wasn’t required to be admitted to the SMCH as was initially thought. Dr. Bhaskar Gupta assured us that we can reach out to him whenever we feel the need and he’ll be there to assist us if the patient’s health further deteriorates.”

Meanwhile, the Principal of the Silchar Medical College & Hospital (SMCH), Dr. Babul Bezbaruah said that the patient can be brought to the SMCH whenever there is any complication. The SMCH will extend all possible help to address the issues of the patient. Also, the management in SMCH had made a WhatsApp group with doctors and attendants to address any issue a patient faces. The group is still active and was created at the very beginning. After this revelation, the controversy that was stirred up yesterday surrounding the Black Fungus case and the SMCH has seemed to have subsided as of now, even though the social media post was a bit misleading in suggesting that the healthcare fraternity of the SMCH didn’t do enough to help Alok Deb.

It is worth mentioning that Karimganj’s Alok Deb still happens to be the sole case of Black Fungus in the entire Barak Valley. By the time the report was filed, the social media post got deleted.