Patient with suspected black fungus infection flees W Bengal's Siliguri hospital

A patient suspected of having contracted mucormycosis, commonly known as Black Fungus infection allegedly ran away from Siliguri's North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH), where she was admitted in the ENT ward, hospital authorities said.

However, the authorities at the NBMCH, which has been designated as the regional hub for the treatment of the Black Fungus cases, said that they had informed the police to trace the woman who had fled the facility on Thursday evening.

The woman hails from Murshidabad district of the state.

There has been a steady rise in the number of Black Fungus cases in North Bengal.

The NBMCH Superintendent Dr Sanjay Mallick, who is also associated with the department of Microbiology said: "COVID-19 situation has increased the number of Black Fungus cases. Earlier, there were only a few number of cases of mucormycosis. Now, the hospital is getting around one or two patients daily on an average."

"Eight such patients have died within a month due to the disease and today 10 more patients suffering from Black Fungus have been admitted at the NBMCH," Mallich added.

According to the district authorities, as many as 172 COVID-19 cases were recorded in the last 24 hours in the district.

( With inputs from ANI )

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