PIB Fact Check: Can alum, turmeric, rock salt and mustard oil cure black fungus mucormycosis?

New Delhi: Mucormycosis, also known as the black fungus, is a fungal infection with a mortality rate of 50 per cent. There have been around 9,000 reported cases of mucormycosis in India. As the country is battling a rare fungal infection, several fake claims have been circulating around the treatment of black fungus through home remedies. 

One such message that has been going viral on the internet claims that people can cure mucormycosis by using alum, turmeric, rock salt and mustard oil. However, on Monday (May 24), the team of PIB Fact Check called the message as 'fake'. 

The viral video shows Dr Parameshwara Arora explaining the treatment of black fungus through these ingredients. He said that two drops of mustard oil mixed with potash alum, turmeric and rock salt powder can be consumed to cure the deadly fungal infection. However, the PIB Fact Check team has quashed the viral video, terming it as 'FAKE'. 

"Claim: Mucromycosis can be cured with alum, turmeric, rock salt and mustard oil. #PIBFactCheck: Claim is bogus because it has no scientific results. Please do not trust home remedies for the treatment of any such serious health problem," the PIB Fact Check team wrote in a message on Twitter. 

____: ______, _____, _____ ___ _ _____ __ ___ __ #Mucormycosis __ ____ ____ __ ____ __#PIBFactCheck:__ ____ #_____ _____ ______ __ _____ ____ __ _____ __ ___ _________ ______ ____ ___ _____ ___ ____ __ _____ _________ ______ __ _____ __ ___ ____ _____ _______ __ _______ _ _____ pic.twitter.com/x0P5HZQkGx — PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) May 24, 2021

Mucormycosis or black fungus is a fungal infection caused by exposure to mucor mould which is commonly found in soil, plants, manure, and decaying fruits and vegetables.As of now, Amphotericin-B, an anti-fungal drug is being used for the treatment of the black fungus disease. The Union Health Ministry, on May 20, urged the states to make mucormycosis, a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897. The central government has made it mandatory for states to report both suspected and confirmed cases of mucormycosis to the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP).

Cases of black fungus infection are being reported in several parts of the country. States like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha, Telangana and Tamil Nadu have already declared it a 'notifiable' disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act, thereby making it mandatory to report every Mucormycosis case to the state government.

Delhi also reported more than 500 cases of black fungus till yesterday, as per Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.