Mumbai, May 22 (IANS): As with the Covid-19 scourge, Maharashtra leads in the number of deaths and cases of the dreaded dark cousin of Coronavirus -- Mucormycosis, or commonly known as 'Black Fungus'.

After the first case was detected in the third week of April, the state has now recorded a staggering 1,500 Mucormycosis infections to date, said Health Minister Rajesh Tope.

"Of the 1,500 cases, there have been 100 deaths till now On May 21, we have declared it as a Notifiable Disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act, making it compulsory to report each case of the Black Fungus to the state health department," Tope told IANS.

Besides Maharashtra, other states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Telangana, Karnataka, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Haryana have also proclaimed it as a Notifiable Disease, as Black Fungus cases have been found in at least 22 Indian states.

Several states, including Maharashtra, have reported a shortage of the drug Liposomal Amphotericin-B used to treat the drug, though last week Tope announced that the Black Fungus would also be treated free by the government as with Covid-19.

Maharashtra currently has notched a whopping 86,618 Covid fatalities and recorded 55,27,092 cases - just below France which has 55,81,351, ranking No. 4 in the world, besides 367,121 'active cases' being treated on date in the state.