India Battles Fatal ‘Black Fungus’ As Government Reports Nearly 300,000 Deaths

NEW DELHI (AP) — Doctors in India are fighting a fatal fungal infection affecting COVID-19 patients or those who have recovered from the disease amid a coronavirus surge that has driven the country’s fatalities to nearly 300,000.

The life-threatening condition, known as mucormycosis, is relatively rare, but doctors suspect that the sudden increase in the infection could further complicate India’s fight against the pandemic.

India has reported more than 26 million confirmed coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, almost half occurring in the past two months. On Sunday, the Health Ministry said 3,741 new deaths, driving India’s confirmed fatalities to 299,266.

It also reported 240,842 new infections, as daily cases remained below 300,000 weekly. The numbers are almost certainly undercounted, with many cases likely being missed due to limited testing.

Experts say new infections in India, which had been rising steeply, may finally be slowing. But there are some early indications that mucormycosis, also known as “black fungus,” is fast becoming a cause of worry. SHRINGVERPUR, INDIA – MAY 20: (EDITOR’S NOTE: Image depicts death.) Bodies, some of which are believed to be Covid-19 victims, are seen partially exposed in shallow sand graves after rains washed away the top layer of sand at a cremation ground on the banks of the Ganges River on May 20, 2021, in Shringverpur, northwest of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. Gravediggers at the site said a threefold increase in the number of bodies arriving for burials and cremations since April. Local media reported that local media has teams of police and local officials have been patrolling several areas along the river in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to discourage burials on its banks and warn people of possible infection risks. India’s prolonged and debilitating wave of Covid-19 infections has reached deep into rural India. The true extent of devastation may never be known because of a lack of widespread testing or reliable data. (Photo by Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images)

Mucormycosis is caused by exposure to mucor mold, commonly found in soil, air, and even humans’ nose and mucus. It spreads through the respiratory tract and erodes facial structures. Sometimes, doctors have to surgically remove the eye to stop the infection from reaching the brain.

On Saturday, federal minister Sadananda Gowda said nearly 9,000 cases had been reported in India, leading to a shortage of Amphotericin B, the drug used to treat the condition.

Gowda didn’t share the fatalities, but local media have said more than 250 have died because of the disease.

Health officials were working to alleviate the drug shortage, which comes when the country is already short on supplies of oxygen and other health care needs, Gowda said.

Mucormycosis has a high mortality rate and was already present in India before the pandemic. It is not contagious, but its frequency in the last month has left doctors shocked.

“It is a new challenge, and things are looking bleak,” said Ambrish Mithal, the chairman and head of the endocrinology and diabetes department at Max Healthcare, a chain of private hospitals in India.

Mithal said the fungal infection preys on patients with weakened immune systems and underlying conditions, particularly diabetes and irrational steroids. Uncontrolled blood sugar can put immunocompromised people at a higher risk of contracting the disease. Earlier, I came across just a few cases every year, but the current infection rate is frightening,” said Mithal.

The latest surge of coronavirus infections in rural India has already taken a toll. Now health experts are worried that over-the-counter medication, including steroids, can increase the prevalence of mucormycosis.

SK Pandey, a medical officer at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Uttar Pradesh state’s Lucknow city, said that unqualified doctors gave steroids to patients in many rural areas without considering whether they required it or not.

“This has led to increase black fungus cases in smaller cities where the patient has not even been hospitalized,” he said.

India’s Health Ministry on Thursday asked states to track the spread of the condition and declare it an epidemic, making it mandatory for all medical facilities to report the cases to a national surveillance network.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called the disease a “new challenge.”