“Black fungus”: India is experiencing an epidemic within the Covid-19 pandemic

India, already experiencing intense second wave of coronavirus, is now suffering mucormycosis, a rare fungal infection known as a ‘black fungus’ that spreads at an alarming rate, especially among recovered or recovering Covid-19 patients.

As of May 23, the total number of people infected exceeded 8,800. Half of the cases have occurred in the states of Gujarat (1,200) and Maharashtra (2000), but 15 other Indian states have also reported between eight and 900 cases in their country. population, so that that the national government told India’s 29 states to declare the disease epidemic.

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The disease, called mucormicosis, generally very rare with about twenty cases per year, has a mortality rate of 50% and in some cases, removal of the eye is necessary to save the patient’s life.

Data on 201 black fungus patients from four hospitals in Indore shows the majority recovered from Covid-19 and were men. Most of them had been treated with steroids and all had underlying illnesses, mainly diabetes.

A separate study by four Indian doctors looked at more than 100 cases of patients with Covid-19 who had contracted mucormycosis. It was found that 79 of them were men and 83 of them suffered from diabetes. “No patient with mucormycosis has normal blood sugar levels, ”Dr Akshay Nayar, an eye surgeon who has treated several patients, told the BBC.

The increase in “black fungus” cases is “definitely unexpected”

Over 80% of patients with mucormycosis require immediate surgerydoctor VP Pandey, chief of medical service at Maharaja Yeshwantrao State Hospital, who until Saturday was treating nearly 200 patients with this inspection, told the BBC.

‘Black fungus’, the infection that attacks Covid-19 patients in India

“This increase in the number of patients was really unexpected. We used to see a case or two a year ago,” said Pandey. “Black fungal infection has now become more difficult than Covid-19. If patients are not treated on time and correctly, the death rate can be as high as 94%.”

The rapid spread of this infection is attributed to the uncontrolled use of steroids to treat coronavirus patients, according to experts such as Professor K. Srinath Reddy of the Public Health Foundation of India.

“People use them excessively and inappropriately,” said the professor., and explained that contaminated water in oxygen cylinders or humidifiers also gives the fungus the ability to enter the body.

“The cost of treatment is expensive and drugs are scarce,” warned Pandey, who explains that the drug to be applied in these cases is amphotericin B, an intravenous antifungal injection that should be given every day for up to eight weeks.

Before the second wave of coronavirus that killed 100,000 people in India last month, cases of mucormycosis were rare in India. This is a very rare infection caused by exposure to the mucous mold commonly found in soil, plants, manure, and rotting fruits and vegetables.

According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the first symptoms are headache, swelling of the face and fever, with a death rate of over 54%. Those affected were usually patients with HIV or diabetes, severely immunocompromised patients or transplant patients.

Experts claim that the disease affects the sinuses, brain, and lungs.

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