MALAPPURAM/KOLLAM: Mucormycosis (black fungus) infection is being reported from different parts of the state. One eye each of a 62-year-old man in Malappuram and a 42-year-old woman in Kollam were removed after the infection threatened to spread to their brains. Both of them were cured of Covid earlier.
In Malappuram, the Ezhoor (Tirur) native got admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital at Manjeri on April 25 after testing Covid positive. He turned negative and left the hospital. While undergoing quarantine at home, the man had difficulty in seeing with his left eye and felt fatigue. He was rushed to a private hospital at Kottakkal where the black fungal infection was confirmed.
The surgery to remove his left eye was done successfully in Kozhikode to prevent the fungus spreading to brain. Health sources said high dose of steroids used could be a possible reason for his condition. “The high dose of steroids will compromise the immunity which makes a patient vulnerable to mucormycosis,” said a source.
In Kollam, the condition was confirmed in the woman who was undergoing treatment in a private hospital in the district. The patient after completing her Covid treatment and testing negative, experienced blurred vision, nasal discharge and severe headache, following which she was admitted to a private medical college hospital. She underwent emergency surgery. After the surgery, the samples were sent for biopsy and the result confirmed that the patient was suffering from mucormycosis.
According to reports, mucormycosis, which has an overall mortality rate of 50 per cent, may be triggered by the use of steroids, a life-saving treatment for severe and critically ill Covid-19 patients, said Kollam Deputy District Medical Officer Dr R Sandhya.
“We have alerted authorities across the district to spread awareness regarding the symptoms of black fungal infection. If a person suffers from nasal congestion, severe headache and blurred vision after recovering from Covid-19, he/she must visit a hospital immediately for further examination. We have the facility to test the samples for black fungus in the district itself,” she added.