Devdiscourse reports that cases of mucormycosis, a serious but rare fungal infection, rose rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic; but reminds us that Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is ideal for the treatment of fungus infections since fungal spores can not survive in a pure oxygen environment.
Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of the congress, Dr Singhal said India had recorded over 50,000 COVID-19-associated mucormycosis patients till May 2021. As per the US public health agency Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mucormycosis is a serious but rare fungal infection and mainly affects people with compromised immunity. It most commonly affects the sinuses or the lungs after inhaling fungal spores from the air.
Dr Singhal said Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh had recorded most of the cases of mucormycosis or ‘black fungus’ infection among states and the reasons for this were many. “One of the factors was our the environment where the fungal spore count is high due to decaying garbage, tropical climate and humidity,” she said.
The infectious disease expert said makeshift COVID-19 centres, set up in the wake of the pandemic, and hospitals did not have good ventilation and had high fungal spore counts.
“COVID-19 patients with reduced immunity, underlying diabetes, high doses of steroids and uncontrolled blood sugars could not clear these fungal spores and went on to develop mucormycosis. Due to all these reasons, we had this outbreak,” she said.
The use of oxygen cylinders, face masks, water in humidifiers and burning of cow dung were not behind the rise in cases of black fungus, said Dr Singhal. “Fungal spores will not survive in pure oxygen as hyperbaric oxygen therapy itself is used to treat infections. Similarly, mucor spores do not thrive in fluid but on moist solid matter,” she said.
Read more at Devdiscourse