THUNDERSTORM: May 2021

Monday, May 31, 2021

Serum Indstitute of India can produce 10 crore of Covid-19 Vaccine In June .

Serum Chief Adar Poonawalla .

I: Serum Institute of India (SII) has informed the governmen ..

Serum Institute of India (SII) has informed the government t ..

Serum Institute of India announced that it can manufacture 9 to 10 crore doses of Covishield in June

In a recent letter to Amit Shah, Serum Institute said its staff has been working round the clock to meet the rising demand for the Covid vaccines in the country.

"We are pleased to inform that in the month of June we will be able to manufacture and supply nine to 10 crore doses of our Covishield vaccine to the country as compared to our production capacity of 6.5 crore doses in May," Prakash Kumar Singh, the Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs at SII, said in the letter.

Mr. Singh also thanked Shah for his "valuable guidance and continuous support" at various stages of their endeavour to make India 'aatmanirbhar' (self-sufficient) in COVID-19 vaccines and making it available for the people of the country.

India is currently using made-in-India vaccines -- Covishield manufactured by Serum Institute of India and Covaxin of Bharat Biotech -- in its COVID-19 immunisation programme.

The Russian Sputnik V is the third vaccine to get approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for emergency use and is being used in a few private hospitals. — PTI

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Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Mucormycosis Black fungus in Covid-19 patients .

Mucormycosis, a serious fungal infection but otherwise rare, has been observed in a number of Covid-19 patients recently. While there is no major outbreak, the national Covid task force has issued an advisory.

A rare but serious fungal infection, known as mucormycosis and colloquially as “Black fungus ”, is being detected relatively frequently among Covid-19 patients in some states. The disease often manifests in the skin and also affects the lungs and the brain. With a number of mucormycosis cases detected in Indian state Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat, experts in the national Covid-19 task force on Sunday issued an evidence-based advisory on the disease.

What is the disease?

Although rare, it is a serious infection. It is caused by a group of moulds known as mucormycetes present naturally in the environment. It mainly affects people who are on medication for health problems that reduces their ability to fight environmental pathogens, say experts from the Covid-19 task force task force.

Sinuses or lungs of such individuals get affected after they inhale fungal spores from the air. Doctors in some states have noted a rise in cases of mucormycosis among people hospitalized or recovering from Covid 19, with some requiring urgent surgery. Usually, mucormycetes does not pose a major threat to those with a healthy immune system.

What happens when one contracts it?

Warning signs include pain and redness around the eyes or nose, with fever, headache, coughing, shortness of breath, bloody vomits, and altered mental status. According to the advisory, infection with mucormycetes should be suspected when there is:

* Sinusitis — nasal blockade or congestion, nasal discharge (blackish/bloody);
* Local pain on the cheek bone, one-sided facial pain, numbness or swelling;
* Blackish discoloration over bridge of nose/palate;
* Loosening of teeth, jaw involvement;
* Blurred or double vision with pain;
* Thrombosis, necrosis, skin lesion;
* Chest pain, pleural effusion, worsening of respiratory symptoms.

Experts advise that one should not count all cases of blocked nose as cases of bacterial sinusitis, particularly in the context of immunosuppression and/or Covid-19 patients on immunomodulators. Do not hesitate to seek aggressive investigations for detecting fungal infection, they advise.