India faces antifungal drug shortage as rare complication adds to COVID-19 woes

A healthcare worker takes a nasal swab sample from a man for a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test in front of a shop in Nawroz Baba village in central Kashmir's Budgam district May 20, 2021. REUTERS/Danish Ismail

BENGALURU (Reuters) -India said on Friday it was working to alleviate a shortage of a medicine used to treat a rare fungal disease hitting COVID-19 patients as its healthcare system reels under a massive wave of coronavirus infections.

Cases of mucormycosis, or "black fungus," a potentially serious condition that causes blurred or double vision, chest pain and breathing difficulties, have surged in India, mostly among COVID-19 patients.