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NEW DELHI (AP) — Doctors in India are fighting a fatal fungal
infection affecting COVID-19 patients or those who have
recovered from the disease amid a coronavirus surge that has
driven the country’s fatalities to nearly 300,000.

The life-threatening condition, known as mucormycosis, is
relatively rare but doctors suspect that the sudden increase in
the infection could further complicate India’s fight against the
pandemic.

Lorain police investigating after man shot, killed outside bar
India has reported more than 26 million confirmed cases of the
coronavirus since the pandemic began, with almost half occurring
in the past two months. On Sunday, the Health Ministry reported
3,741 new deaths, driving India’s confirmed fatalities to
299,266.

It also reported 240,842 new infections, as daily cases remained
below 300,000 for a week. The numbers are almost certainly
undercounts, with many cases likely being missed due to limited
testing.

Experts say new infections in India, which had been rising
steeply, may finally be slowing. But there are some early
indications that mucormycosis, also known as “black fungus,” is
fast becoming a cause of worry.

Mucormycosis is caused by exposure to mucor mold, which is
commonly found in soil, air and even in the nose and mucus of
humans. It spreads through the respiratory tract and erodes
facial structures. Sometimes, doctors have to surgically remove
the eye to stop the infection from reaching the brain.

On Saturday, federal minister Sadananda Gowda said nearly 9,000
cases had been reported in India so far, leading to a shortage
of Amphotericin B, the drug used to treat the condition.

Gowda didn’t share the number of fatalities, but local media
have said more than 250 have died because of the disease.

Health officials were working to alleviate the drug shortage,
which comes at a time when the country is already short on
supplies of oxygen and other health care needs, Gowda said.

Mucormycosis has a high mortality rate and was already present
in India before the pandemic. It is not contagious but its
frequency in the last month has left doctors shocked.

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“It is a new challenge and things are looking bleak,” said
Ambrish Mithal, the chairman and head of the endocrinology and
diabetes department at Max Healthcare, a chain of private
hospitals in India.

Mithal said the fungal infection preys on patients with weakened
immune systems and underlying conditions, particularly diabetes,
and irrational usage of steroids. Uncontrolled blood sugar can
put immunocompromised people at a higher risk of contracting the
disease.

“Earlier I used to come across just a few cases every year but
the current infection rate is frightening,” said Mithal.

The latest surge of coronavirus infections in rural India has
already taken a toll. Now heath experts are worried that over-
the-counter medication, including steroids, can increase the
prevalence of mucormycosis.

SK Pandey, a medical officer at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in
Uttar Pradesh state’s Lucknow city, said that unqualified
doctors were giving steroids to patients in many rural areas
without giving a thought whether they require it or not.

“This has led to increase in black fungus cases in smaller
cities where the patient has not even been hospitalized,” he
said.

India’s Health Ministry on Thursday asked states to track the
spread of the condition and declare it an epidemic, making it
mandatory for all medical facilities to report the cases to a
federal surveillance network.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called the disease a “new challenge.”India battles fatal fungal threat as virus deaths
near 300K

https://fox8.com/news/coronavirus/india-battles-fatal-black- fungus-infection-in-covid-19-patients/
 

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