What is the black fungus epidemic?

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**Joseph Chance** (1:01)
What is the Black Fungus Epidemic?
Thanks for asking. Since May 2021, India has been faced with an additional epidemic on top of Covid-19.
It's that of a black fungus, also known as mucormycosis. This rare infection spreads among Covid patients, first of all attacking their faces, in particular the nose, sinuses or eyes, before moving on to the brain and lungs. According to AFP, India has recorded over 45,000 black fungus cases in the last two months. That's compared to less than 20 cases per year in pre-Covid times. The real figure may be much higher, and the epidemic is causing major concern, especially given the infection has a mortality rate of 50%. Why is this epidemic taken off in India? Health services in the country are administering steroids in large doses to treat patients when they are critically ill with Covid. While reducing inflammation in the lungs, these steroids also weaken patients' immune systems, making them vulnerable to infections. Those with underlying conditions like diabetes make for easy black fungus targets. Experts believe the fungus may have spread due to sharing humidifiers, ventilators, and oxygen cylinders, which are sometimes stored in unsanitary conditions. What is done to treat those infected with mucomycosis? The main treatment of choice is Amfotericin B, an antibiotic which is usually given as an intravenous injection. However, India is currently experiencing a drastic shortage, with supplies totally depleted due to the unexpected demand. A dozen pharmaceutical companies have now been authorized to manufacture the drug. When infection is identified late, surgery may be required quickly in order to remove all infected tissue and organs, stopping further spread. Is the black fungus a new kind of Covid then? Not at all. It's important to stress that mucomycosis is absolutely not a new Covid-19 variant. It's not even a contagious disease. It can't be transmitted from one person to another.
Rather, people catch the fungus by coming into contact with it in the environment. Generally speaking, people in good health have strong natural resistance. Has it been seen in other countries? While the fungus is prevalent worldwide, it was already 70 times more common in India than elsewhere before the current epidemic. Nevertheless, mucomycosis cases have recently been reported in other countries like Chile, Uruguay, Iraq, and Egypt. Other fungal infections such as aspergillosis have been found in Covid patients in the Western world.
There you have it.
Now you know what the black fungus epidemic is. In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions. What would you like to know about? Use the comments section to ask your questions on the podcast platform.