Amidst reports of Covid-induced black fungus or cases of mucormycosis among recovered patients in Maharashtra and Delhi, three cases with the identical infection have been reported from a Meerut hospital, probably the first cases in Uttar Pradesh. Of the three patients, one is from Muzaffarnagar while the other two from Bijnore and all were being treated at a private hospital in Meerut.
Nephrologist & renal transplant physician and incharge of the private hospital, Dr Sandeep Garg on Tuesday confirmed the cases and said that the condition of patients was being closely monitored.
“Covid patients who are being given steroids and are diabetic or under chemotherapy or those having undergone organ transplant have been facing new challenges due to this fungus which is attacking people with low immunity and those who are in a serious condition,” he said.
Dr Garg further said that of the three patients diagnosed with black fungus, one is a diabetic, another is a transplant patient while the third one is a normal patient. “All of them were infected with Covid for some time and were administered steroids to strengthen their lungs. As per medical literature, the recovery rate for this fungus is around 50 per cent if diagnosed at an early stage,” he said.
Experts maintain that the first nine days after coronavirus infection are very important. “If there is a complaint of black fungus, we treat the patient as serious. This fungus can damage the skin as well as nose, lungs and brain,” head of Pulmonary Medicine department of King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, Dr Suryakant said.
The pulmonologist said that black fungus is already present in air and land and as soon as a person with weak immunity comes in contact with it, there are chances of him or her contracting the infection. “The longer the patient stays in the hospital, the greater the risk,” he said.
“The fungus first enters the body through the nose and then reaches the brain with the bloodstream from the lungs. The higher the infection, the more severe the symptoms,” he said.