More cases of black fungus infection or mucormycosis are being reported from government medical college hospitals (MCH) in Kozhikode and Thrissur, a majority of them COVID-19 patients having high levels of diabetes. Doctors, however, said there was no need to panic as it was a commonly found fungus.
According to sources, 13 patients are now undergoing treatment at the Kozhikode MCH and two at the Thrissur MCH. There are three suspected cases in Thrissur as well. One patient from Palakkad, who died at the Kozhikode MCH on Friday, was later found to be infected. He tested negative for SARS-CoV-2.
Among the patients in Kozhikode, seven are from Malappuram, three from Kozhikode, and one from Thrissur. Another patient is from Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu and one from Bengaluru in Karnataka. Two of them have no history of COVID-19 infection.
Early detection
Thrissur District Medical Officer K.J. Reena said both the patients at Thrissur MCH were from Palakkad. “All the five, including the suspected patients, undergoing treatment here have tested positive for COVID-19. We could detect the mucormycosis infection at an early stage,” Dr. Reena said.
She said that the infection occurs in immuno-compromised conditions. “Patients with uncontrolled diabetes, chronic diseases and those who take immuno-suppressant drugs such as steroids are vulnerable to it,” she said. Dr. Reena said that the function would not affect an immuno-competent person. People using steroids for long should be careful, she added.
Symptoms
Sources at the Kozhikode MCH said that isolated cases of black fungus infection had been reported earlier as well. Right now, the number of cases is going up and it is noticed in diabetes patients who undergo treatment or recover from COVID-19. Blackening or discolouration over nose, breathing difficulties and coughing blood, chest pain, and blurred or double vision are some of the symptoms in COVID-19 patients the healthcare workers need to watch out for, the sources added.
