According to the latest data compiled by the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) on October 7, 2021, Ranchi is the only district in Jharkhand that currently has active cases of mucormycosis.

Key Points:

=> According to IDSP data, in the last eight months, at least 18 of the state's 24 districts had witnessed a fungal infection with a fatality rate of 50 per cent and claimed 31 lives.

=> Out of 168 cases of mucormycosis reported in the state so far, 66 cases have been found in Ranchi and 11 out of 31 deaths have occurred.

=> As per records, there were only three patients of mucormycosis (commonly known as black fungus) in Jharkhand on October 7, and all three of them are undergoing treatment in Ranchi.

=> At the same time, 25 cases of mucormycosis have been reported in East Singhbhum, which is second among the districts of the state, while 11 people were found infected with mucormycosis in Hazaribagh. In other affected districts, 9 people were found infected in Bokaro, 8 each in Dhanbad and Giridih, 7 in Ramgarh and 6 in Palamu.

=> Of the 31 deaths in the state, 11 were in Ranchi, five in East Singhbhum, three in Ramgarh, two each in Dhanbad and Godda and one each in Bokaro, Chatra, Deoghar, Dumka, Garhwa, Giridih, Hazaribagh and Koderma.

=> Mucormycosis is a rare infection caused by exposure to mucor mold found in soil, plants, manure and rotting fruits and vegetables. Jharkhand notified mucormycosis as an epidemic earlier this year following directions from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.