NEW DELHI: Health authorities in India have detected a rare “black fungus” that invades the brain of vulnerable patients, including those with COVID-19, as the health system continues to struggle in the midst of the pandemic.
According to India’s health ministry, about 300 cases had been reported in four cities, including Ahmedabad. “The infection, called mucormycosis, is very serious, has a high mortality, and you need surgery and lots of drugs to get on top of it once it takes hold”, said Prof Peter Collignon, member of World Health Organization’s expert committee.
“They’re a family of fungus that gets into your sinuses and deposit there, and they can get into the air spaces in your head,” Collignon said, adding, “When your immune system can’t keep them under control they invade the base of your brain where it becomes a real problem.”
Some of its symptoms include pain and redness around the eyes and nose, a fever, headache, coughing, vomit with blood in it, black and bloody nasal discharge, pain on one side of the face and in the sinuses, blackish discoloration over the nose, tooth pain, and painful and blurred vision.
Referring to its treatment, Prof Peter Collignon said that Mucormycosis is expensive and difficult to treat and has a mortality rate upwards of 50%. Patients with mucormycosis are given antifungal drugs that can be quite toxic.
“You invariably need surgery as well to clear out the source of the fungus, which is usually the sinus, and the back of your throat at the back of your nose,” Collignon said.
