Two units are being set up at the government medical colleges at Bhopal and Jabalpur to treat cases of mucormycosis or black fungus, an infection affecting COVID-19 patients, in Madhya Pradesh, a state minister said on Thursday.

State Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang said these units with 10 beds each will be set up at Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal and Netaji Subhash Chandra Medical College in Jabalpur. Equipment is being procured from the Centre and the facilities will become operational in a week's time, the minister said. "These are going to be the first two units in the country with separate operation theatres to treat cases of the fungal infection," Sarang said.

The Minister said he was in talks with US-based infectious disease expert Manoj Jain, who has given the knowhow about establishing these treatment units. The facilities are coming up days after the Centre issued an advisory to the states citing that mucormycosis or black fungus may turn fatal if left untreated.

According to experts, the fungal infection mainly affects people who are on medication that reduce their ability to fight environmental pathogens. The symptoms of the infection include headache, fever, pain under the eyes, nasal or sinus congestion and partial loss of vision.