An infectious disease expert said on Wednesday that one of the key factors behind a spurt in black fungus or mucormycosis cases among the coronavirus survivors was the indiscriminate use of steroids. Speaking at Indian Science Congress in Nagpur, Dr Tanu Singhal, a paediatrician and infectious disease specialist at Mumbai’s Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, said among many teachings of the coronavirus pandemic was the judicious use of steroids.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Congress, the infectious disease expert said India had recorded over 50,000 Covid-19-associated mucormycosis patients till May 2021. As per the US public health agency Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mucormycosis or black fungus is a serious but rare fungal infection and mainly affects people with compromised immunity.
The black fungus most commonly affects the sinuses or the lungs after inhaling fungal spores from the air. According to the reports, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were among the states that recorded the most number of mucormycosis or black fungus cases.
“One of the factors was our environment where the fungal spore count is high due to decaying garbage, tropical climate and humidity,” she said. The makeshift Covid-19 centres, set up to deal with the rising number of coronavirus cases, did not have good ventilation and had high fungal spore counts, the expert said.
She said, “Covid-19 patients with reduced immunity, underlying diabetes, high doses of steroids and uncontrolled blood sugars could not clear these fungal spores and went on to develop mucormycosis. Due to all these reasons, we had this outbreak.”.
The use of oxygen cylinders, face masks, water in humidifiers and burning of cow dung were not behind the rise in cases of black fungus, said Dr Singhal.
“Fungal spores will not survive in pure oxygen as hyperbaric oxygen therapy itself is used to treat infections. Similarly, mucor spores do not thrive in fluid but on moist solid matter,” she added.
(With agency inputs)
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