Fungal Infection Deaths: Two Patients Die Of A New Strain Of Aspergillus Lentulus In Delhi

Reports suggest that two patients died of a new strain of the fungal infection known as Aspergillus Lentulus at AIIMS. Here's everything you need to know about the incident.

Doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences discovered a drug-resistant infection known as Aspergillus lentulus in two patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who were just admitted to the hospital, according to a report in TOI. Both died during the treatment.

One of the patients was in his late 50s, while the other was in his early 40s, according to a case report published in the Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology (IJMM). Both of them had COPD. When the infection didn't respond to treatment, including antibiotics and antifungals, as well as supplemental oxygen, the first man was referred to AIIMS from a non-public health centre. The patient was given Amphotericin B and oral Voriconazole injections at AIIMS, according to the IJMM report. For more than a month, his medical condition remained unchanged before he succumbed to the fungal infection.

The second patient was brought to the AIIMS emergency room with a fever, cough, and shortness of breath. He was also given Amphotericin B, but his position did not improve, and he died after a week of multi-organ failure.

"As far as we know, this is the first report from India on a case of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in a COPD patient caused by Aspergillus lentulus," underlined IJMM reports written by Jaweed Ahmed, Gagandeep Singh, Immaculata Xess, and Mragnayani Pandy.

What Is Aspergillus lentulus?

According to open-source medical literature, Aspergillus lentulus is a human pathogen that causes infection in the lungs and has a high fatality rate. While cases have been reported in the past from various nations, experts believe this is the first time this species of Aspergillus has been detected in India.

A lentulus is an Aspergillus species that was originally discovered in 2005, according to research published on the National Center for Biotechnology Information website. The species generated invasive disease and was characterised by 'decreased susceptibilities to several antifungal treatments,' according to researchers.

Aspergillus fungus is found in soil and degraded matter all over the world, and its species are one of the most common causes of invasive mould diseases. Spores in the air primarily impact immunocompromised people, those with blood cancer conditions, people who have just had bone marrow or organ transplants, and so on. The fungi have also been linked to persons who had previously tested positive for the virus as the COVID-19 epidemic continues to rampage.

(with inputs from agencies)