Two of seven persons admitted at the Kannur Government Medical College Hospital have shown all the symptoms of Mucormycosis, commonly called black fungus, a rare but serious infection caused by the fungus called mucormycete.
Black fungus cases have been reported from other districts in the State earlier, but no cases had been detected in Kannur and Kasaragod districts so far.
According to health officials at the medical college, the seven suspected cases of black fungus have been getting treated at the hospital for the past one week.
Medical College Hospital Superintendent K. Sudeep said that no cases of Mucormycosis had been confirmed in the hospital so far. However, two of the patients from Kasaragod district were showing all the symptoms of Mucormycosis.
The test reports of the patients had pointed to fungal infection. However, this could be ascertained after the biopsy reports were received, he said.
Dr. Sudeep said the other five patients were from Kannur district and they were being monitored. None of them had shown any symptoms of the disease till now.
He said the fungal infection was not contagious but affected patients with weakened immune systems and underlying conditions, particularly uncontrolled diabetes, and irrational use of steroids and voriconazole anti-fungal therapy.
