Gandhinagar, May 26 (IANS): The Gujarat government on Wednesday constituted a task force to bring uniformity in the treatment and protocols for the notified epidemic of mucormycosis in Gujarat. Also the health department released a study which said that more than 50 percent of mucormycosis patients recovered without the need for steroids to fight the fungal infection.

Following the central government's advisory, the Gujarat government has notified mucormycosis or black fungus as an epidemic. More than half of the patients of mucormycosis in the country are from Gujarat.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Wednesday constituted an eleven member task force to bring uniformity in the treatment and protocols for the fungus.

The task force comprises of Dr Girish Parmar, the additional director and the Dean of Ahmedabad government dental college, Dr Kamlesh Upadhyay, Medicine, BJ Medical college, Ahmedabad, Dr Bela Prajapati, ENT, BJ Medical college, Dr Hansa Thakkar, opthalmologist, M&J Institute of Opthalmology, Dr Ashwin Vasava, Medicine, Surat government Medical college, Dr Anand Chaudhary, ENT, Surat government Medical college, Dr BI Goswami, Medicine, MP Shah, Jamnagar Medical college, Dr Sejal Mistri, ENT, PDU Medical college, Rajkot, Dr Neeti Sheth, opthalmologist, PDU Medical College, Rajkot, Dr Susheel Jha, ENT and Dr Neelesh V Parekh, opthalmologist, both from government medical college, Bhavnagar.

Meanwhile, based on the mucormycosis patients treated in the government hospitals of the state, the health department has come out with a report on the basis of which it is claimed that more than fifty percent (50.5%) patients did not require the use of steroids. Also, 66.5 patients did not require oxygen in getting treated.

It was also observed that 59 percent patients consisted of diabetes patients, 27.1 percent patients were immuno compromised and 15.2 percent were having co-morbidity.

It was also observed that 67.1 percent of patients were male while only 32.9 percent were female. Less than one percent (0.5) consisted of patients below 18 years age, 28.4 percent were 18 to 45 years age, the maximum patients of mucormycosis were 45 to 60 years at 46.3 percent and 24.9 percent consisted of more than sixty year old patients.