According to news reports, some COVID-19 patients in India have developed a rare and potentially fatal fungal infection called mucormycosis. This is also known as the “black ear mushroom”.
Mucormycosis Mold Called mucormicetes, it grows on rotten organic matter such as soil and rotten leaves and trees. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“It’s everywhere, in the soil and air, and even in the nose and mucus of healthy people,” said Dr. Akshay Nea, a Mumbai-based ophthalmologist. Told BBC News.. Mold can enter the body through cuts and other abrasions on the skin, and after inhaling fungal spores, the infection can settle in the sinuses and lungs. Once inside the body, the fungus can spread through the bloodstream and affect other organs. brain,Eye, spleen And heart..
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Most commonly, mucormycosis affects debilitated people Immune system, Diabetes According to the CDC, people taking drugs that suppress immune activity. Currently, more and more COVID-19 patients appear to be infected in India, The New York Times reported..
For example, in Maharashtra, where Mumbai is located, 200 people suffered from mucormycosis and eight died of black ear mushrooms after recovering from COVID-19, the Times reported, citing local news reports. Cases have also occurred in the capital city of Delhi and Gujarat, and the state government has ordered 5,000 doses of the antifungal drug amphotericin B to treat the disease.
Dr. VK Paul, head of the Covid Task Force in India, said at a final press conference, “In some areas, people who have been infected or recovered from COVID have been told that they are suffering from mucormycosis, but a major outbreak There is no such thing. ” Weeks, according to the Times. “We are monitoring and monitoring.”
Increasing cases may be related to the use of steroid In hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the drug suppresses the immune system, BBC News reported. And people with diabetes begin to have an increased risk of infection, even before taking steroids. “Diabetes reduces the body’s immune defenses, coronaviruses exacerbate it, and steroids that help fight COVID-19 act like fuel for fire,” Nea told BBC News.
In addition, many families had to treat their relatives with COVID-19 at home, which could expose them to mold after receiving medication or oxygen therapy in a less than sterile condition, The Times said. I am reporting.
Nair saw dozens of Mumbai-based black ear mushroom patients in April. Many of them suffered from diabetes and the hospital was flooded with patients, so they recently recovered from COVID-19 at home, BBC News reported. 11 patients eye Mold can easily spread from the eyes to the brain and is surgically removed due to a fungal infection.
In the early stages of infection, patients often develop epistaxis or epistaxis. Swollen eyes; sagging eyelids; or blurred vision, BBC News reported. Black spots may also appear on the skin around the nose.
Read more about cases of mucormycosis New York Times And BBC news..
Originally published in Live Science.
