Alert in Uruguay for a case of “black fungus” in a patient with coronavirus

They detect in Uruguay a case of “black fungus” in a patient infected with a coronavirus, which raised the alarm in the scientific community of this country. It is a “mucormycosis” that has affected thousands of people with covid in India in recent days.

According to the newspaper The country from Uruguay, a man with diabetes in his 50s suffers from the infection. Based on information, it is not known whether this is the first case in Uruguay.

“The important thing is not the identification of a case, but the warning that immune wear and tear caused by the coronavirus may leave fertile ground for other infections,” Uruguayan authorities reported.

What is the “black mushroom”?

Mucormycosis, nicknamed “black fungus” by doctors in India, is usually more severe in patients with weakened immune systems for this or other infections. Aggressively attacks the nose, eyes and sometimes the brain.

“Cases of mucormycosis infections in patients with Covid-19 after their recovery are nearly four to five times more numerous than those detected before the pandemic,” Atul Patel, an infectious disease specialist based in Ahmedabad. Covid-19 Working Group.

The specialized portal Medline Plus assures that this fungus is “a fungal infection of the paranasal sinuses, brain or lungs, which occurs in some people with weakened immune systems,” rescued El País.

The Indian doctor specializing in infectious diseases, Atul Patel, told the EFE news agency that this fungal infection mainly affects “patients with uncontrolled diabetes or have complications from diabetes. “

“It’s not something everyone can get“, clarified the doctor, and added that, in this sense,” a determining factor which also contributes to increase the incidence is the use of steroids for the treatment of the infection by the covid-19 “.

Among the recommendations, to prevent the appearance of this infection, there is the maintenance of adequate hygiene and the use of a mask, or even to protect the whole body during gardening work.

It can present as pain and redness around the eyes or nose, fever, headache, cough, difficulty breathing, vomiting blood, and altered mental status.

Health experts have said the disease affects the sinuses, brain and lungs and can be fatal in diabetics or severely immunocompromised patients. such as cancer or HIV / AIDS patients.

Expands to India

At least 19 regions of India, the latest of them in Jammu and Kashmir, have raised mucormycosis, a sometimes fatal infection popularly known as ‘black fungus’, with an epidemic status of which an increasing number of cases have been detected in COVID patients

The Indian government said the country had recorded 11,717 cases, the federal chemicals and fertilizers minister said. Sadananda Gowda.

According to Gowda, Gujarat tops the list with 2,859 cases, followed by Maharashtra with 2,770 cases.

“An additional 29,250 ampoules of the drug Amphotericin B, used in the treatment of mucormycosis, have been allocated to all states today. The allocation was made on the basis of the number of patients in treatment, which is 11,717 nationwide, ”Gowda wrote on social media. media.

The federal Department of Health has asked all states to declare an epidemic of infections due to mucormycosis and to report all cases.

The directive was issued after the number of patients with covid and mucormycosis have skyrocketed in the country. The disease has become a new challenge in India.

Source: agencies

AFG