Over 5.7 crore Indians affected by serious fungal diseases: Study

Over 57 crore Indians are affected by serious fungal diseases 10 per cent of which are from potentially deadly mold infections according to a review of over 400 published research articlesFungal disease is frequent in India but its incidence and prevalence are unclear This review is the first to define the frequency or burden of various fungal infections in the countryResearchers from All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi AIIMS Kalyani West Bengal and PGIMER Chandigarh along with The University of Manchester UK estimate that 57250826 over 57 crore or 44 per cent of Indias population are likely to be affectedAlso read Sonia Gandhi admitted to Ganga Ram Hospital in New DelhiThe total burden due to fungal diseases is huge but underappreciated said Animesh Ray of AIIMS Delhi the lead author of the articleWhile tuberculosis affects less than three million people in a year in India the number of Indians affected by fungal disease are several times higher Ray saidThe review published in the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases found that vaginal thrush or yeast infection of vagina affected around 24 crore women of reproductive age with repeated attacksHair fungal infection known as tinea capitis in schoolage children affected a similar number It causes a painful infected scalp and leaves many with hair loss according to the studyMajor contributors to death were mold infections of lungs and sinuses affecting over 250000 25 lakh people the researchers saidAnother 1738400 over 17 lakh people had chronic aspergillosis an infection of respiratory system caused by a type of mold and there were 35 lakh people with serious allergic lung mold disease they saidThe review shows that over 10 lakh people are thought to have potentially blinding fungal eye disease and nearly two lakh had mucormycosis so called Black moldThis total burden of serious fungal infections is over 10 times the annual incidence of tuberculosis in India indicating an enormous population of patients affected by fungal diseases the researchers saidProfessor David Denning from The University of Manchester and Global Action For Fungal Disease noted that there have been major diagnostic improvements in recent years with public health services in India catching up with private hospitals in terms of capabilityHowever fungal disease continues to be threat to public health and a cause of significant morbidity and mortality representing a considerable socioeconomic burden to those who are infected by them Denning saidAnd there remain large parts of India with limited diagnostic capability as evidenced by our inability to estimate some important diseases such as histoplasmosis and fungal asthma in children he addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever