Mucormycosis: Can black fungus infect people who don't have COVID-19? Here's what experts say

The Madhya Pradesh government has declared Mucormycosis (also known as black fungus) a notified disease in the state. (Image: News18 Creative)

As it battles a furious second coronavirus wave, India is facing another challenge in the form of mucormycosis, often referred to as black fungus,  with states reporting a surge in the disease that poses a risk to the brain, lungs and sinuses.

State after state is reporting a daily high in cases of mucormycosis, which can be fatal, among patients recovering from coronavirus.

In Haryana, the count has risen to 421. The infection is on a rise among COVID-19 patients in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand as well.

The Delhi government-run Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) and Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) hospitals reported 36 more cases of black fungus in a day, senior officials said on May 23.

India used to record about 100 cases of black fungus a year earlier but now Karnataka alone has recorded about 700 cases last week, Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan, who is also the head of the state's COVID task force, said on the day.

Also read | COVID-hit Bengaluru is running out of beds for black fungus treatment

The fungal infection has been declared as an epidemic in Bihar, the latest state to do so. The Madhya Pradesh government has also declared the infection a notified disease.

Though recently mucormycosis has been reported among coronavirus patients, this fungal infection can happen even to people without COVID-19 disease, the Hindustan Times reported experts as saying. They cautioned those who have high blood sugar against mucormycosis.

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“What medical students are taught about black fungus is that this infects diabetic people — those who have uncontrolled diabetes. The combination of uncontrolled diabetes and some other significant disease may lead to black fungus," Niti Aayog (health) member VK Paul was quoted as saying.

A diabetes patient becomes vulnerable to black fungus when one’s blood sugar level reaches 700-800—a situation medically known as diabetic ketoacidosis, the report cited Paul as saying.

Also read: Centre allocates over 23,600 vials of Amphotericin-B to states

Healthy people do not need to worry about the fungal infection but people with weakened immunity are at greater risk, said All India Institute of Medical Science’s Dr Nikhil Tandon.

The reason behind the recent rise in the cases may be because the COVID variant in the second wave attacked the immunity more than it did in the first wave, Dr Tandon said.

Mucor can spread through air. It won’t cause any problem if person is healthy. Mucor may enter into lungs but the chances are very low. Our body is capable to fight it if the immunity is strong: Dr. Nikhil Tandon, Prof & Head, Dept of Endocrinology & Metabolism, AIIMS, New Delhi pic.twitter.com/n59bdGFzF9

— ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2021

Also, there has been rampant use of steroids, which could also be a reason for the spike in the fungal infection, the doctor said. "But nothing can be said with certainty without proper investigation," the report quoted the doctor as saying.

Experts in Karnataka will study whether the rise in mucormycosis cases is linked to the use of industrial oxygen and its possible contamination. In a meeting with the treatment protocol committee on May 23 where the possible sources of the infection were discussed, Karnatak Deputy CM Narayan directed experts to find the source of the fungal infection, with doubts being expressed about oxygen supply, quality of piping and cylinders. A team of microbiologists will start work from May 24, his office said in a release.

(With inputs from PTI)

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