India: Harmful oxygen, breathing in the back of ‘black mushrooms’? | Coronavirus News Plague

The long-term development of mucormycosis, also known as “black fungus”, has exacerbated India’s problems with the second wave of COVID-19.

Ask for more information on mucormycosis, opinions from health professionals and scientific evidence of what could lead to a recent rise in cases.

What is mucormycosis?

Mucormycosis is a condition that causes blisters or runny nose, blurred vision, blurred vision, chest pain, shortness of breath and coughing up blood.

Mucormycosis is caused by the presence of fungus in the stomach, which is found in the soil, air and in the nose and mucous membranes of humans.

It spreads through the air and damages the face. In some cases, doctors need to remove the infected eye to prevent it from reaching the brain.

This condition is closely related to diabetes and the body’s immune system. Experts have suggested that drug overdose during the COVID-19 epidemic could exacerbate the problem.

Data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that mucormycosis has a 54% risk, which can vary depending on the patient’s condition and the part of the body affected.

On Saturday, federal medicine and fertilizer minister Sadananda Gowda said nearly 9,000 cases had been reported in India in recent weeks, especially among people living with or infected with COVID-19. Generally, the country reports at least 20 cases a year.

The disease resulted in a decrease in Amphotericin B, a drug used to treat the condition. Gowda did not share the death toll, but local media reports say more than 250 have died from the disease.

Is it contagious?

The disease is not contagious, which means that it cannot be spread by humans or animals.

COVID patients with black fungus receive treatment at a hospital in Jabalpur [File: Uma Shankar Mishra/AFP]

But it spreads from pests found in the air or in the area, which are unavoidable.

“Bacteria and fungi are already present in our bodies, but they are under the control of the immune system,” said K Bhujang Shetty, chief of Narayana Nethralaya’s special eye hospital.

“When the immune system is weakened due to cancer, diabetes or the use of steroids, then these organisms are more successful and multiplying,” Shetty said.

Is it transmitted by improper cylinders or respirators?

It’s hard to say.

Experts say that poor hygiene can increase the risk of infection.

“There is a lot of dirt in the pipes used to make air, the cylinders used, the perfume makers used,” said Nishant Kumar, an eye specialist at Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai.

“If you have a healthy immune system, and you’ve been in a tube with oxygen for a long time, then the disease gets a lot of chance of infiltration.”

But opinions are divided on this issue.

“Hospitals were dirty even before April. We need to study the disease to see why these cases are on the rise now, “said SP Kalantri, chief medical officer and researcher at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Science in Maharashtra.

Why mucormycosis and not other fungal infections?

COVID-19 has been linked to a wide range of secondary bacterial and fungal infections, but experts say India’s second wave of COVID has created a favorable environment for mucormycosis.

Low blood pressure, diabetes, iron deficiency, immune system, and a number of other factors in addition to long-term medical and respiratory techniques, make for an effective treatment for mucormycosis, researchers wrote in the journal Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews.

“It’s a new problem and things seem to be going awry,” said Ambrish Mithal, chairman and head of the endocrinology and diabetes department at Max Healthcare, one of India’s largest hospitals.

“In the past I have had it several times a year but the current illness is very serious.”