India Covid Crisis: Lethal Black Fungus adds to patients' woes

Mumbai - Medical condition is more pronounced among those suffering from blood sugar, doctors say

Afroz Shah, who had captured the public imagination in 2016 after the United Nations (UN) honoured him as a “Champion of the Earth” for leading the clean-up of the polluted Versova Beach in Mumbai, put out a distress message on social media on May 1.

The lawyer-turned-ecological warrior’s message was about his 81-year-old mother, who was undergoing a surgical procedure for mucormycosis at a private hospital.

What is mucormycosis?

For the uninitiated, it is a lethal rare fungal infection, which is also called the "Black Fungus", and has been detected among a section of Covid-19 patients. How do patients, who have contracted SARS-COV-2 that causes the viral disease get afflicted with mucormycosis?

Doctors attributed the “Black Fungus” among those Covid-19 patients, who are diabetic and have administered steroids. The medical condition has come to light among immunosuppressed patients across the western Indian state of Maharashtra, one of the epicentres of the second and more lethal contagion.

How potent is the “Black Fungus?”

Doctors said the fungus is fatal, disfigures the face and many patients have lost their eyesight.

Shah’s emotional social media post captured the trauma.

“I took the last picture of my mother, as she was about to enter the operation theatre (OT). Doctors had no option but to remove her left eye in a bid to protect her life. The fungus has reached her brain as well, and she is battling for her life. It’s traumatic. I bade goodbye to her, as she was wheeled into the OT with her eyes intact. She will be left without an eye, even if the fungus spares her life. May the pain and trauma ease for me and my family members. Prayers are the need of the hour,” said a distressed Shah during the Holy month of Ramadan, which started in India a day after the UAE on April 14, and the Eid-al-Fitr will be celebrated next week.

Doctors cutting across specialisation from ear, nose, and throat to dentists, maxillofacial surgeons, diabetologists, neurologists and critical care are worried about the sudden spike in mucormycosis case during the second wave of Covid-19.

Dr. Rajesh Yadav, an ENT consultant at Shatabdi Hospital and United Multispecialty Hospital at Kandivali, told Khaleej Times that: “I’ve come across 25 cases of mucormycosis within a month. There have been cases where many have lost their eyesight.

When mucormycosis is detected, we’ve to remove the black fungus on time, or else it spreads in a patient’s body. If the infection reaches the brain, I’m afraid, nothing can be done.”

What are the tell-tale symptoms of the “Black Fungus”?

Dr. Yadav said it starts with swelling in the face along with a runny nose, which is often ignored by a Covid-19 patient.

“These symptoms are devastating complications of a Covid-19 infection. There is a rise in orbital, sinonasal and the worst is rhinocerebral, when the fungus reaches the brain," he added.

Dr. Yadav stressed that if the fungus attacks the eyes, nose and palate, these body parts can be removed to save a patient’s life, but the disfigurement could be a traumatic experience for the afflicted.

"Our aim is to prevent rhinocerebral mucormycosis to prevent the fungus from spreading to the brain which can be detected through an MRI or a CT scan. Once it spreads to the brain, we remove the sinuses and the orbit parts and manage it with medication," Dr Yadav added.

Dr. Shashikant Mhashal, assistant professor, ENT, Cooper Hospital, Mumbai, said he came across 26 cases of mucormycosis within a month.