Podcast: India's burden of 'black fungus' cases is higher, says expert

A recently-published study by researchers of Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh and Germany’s Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, has named diabetes mellitus, steroids overdose, high iron levels, prolonged hospitalisation, poor indoor ventilation and unsanitary conditions as the key reasons leading to the cases of mucormycosis in COVID-19-affected patients in India.

In this podcast, Dr Atul Patel of Sterling Hospital, Ahmedabad, tells us more about the invasive fungal infection, also called as ‘black fungus’, and the reasons that aggravate it.

Taking a view contrary to the study, Dr Patel, denies the claim that prolonged hospitalisation leads to mucormycosis in COVID patients. He says patients recovered from COVID-19 have developed symptoms of black fungus in two to three weeks.

He says mucormycosis produces dead issues in the area of infection, and if the patient does not undergo complete surgical removal of the dead tissue, it may trigger a recurrence of the infection. Explaining the shortage of Amphotericin B to treat mucormycosis, Dr Patel states that India’s burden of mucormycosis cases compared to the global rate of infection is higher. He also explains the early symptoms of COVID-associated mucormycosis.

Tune in for the full details here: