Arushi Bidhuri
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Written By: Arushi Bidhuri | Updated : May 28, 2021 4:29 PM IST
The most common place where black fungus can affect is face.
India, currently home to the ferocious second wave of Covid-19, is experiencing a surge in the cases of black fungus and white fungus. A number of cases of Mucormycosis (black fungus) are being reported in patients recovering from COVID -19 across the country creating a new fear. It was recently declared an epidemic in Delhi due to the huge surge the city is experiencing now. The Delhi government declared that the deadly mucormycosis an epidemic with Lt Governor Anil Baijal adopting regulations under the Epidemic Diseases, Act to control and manage cases in the city. And a new study has found that bacterial and fungal infections are causing deaths among Covid-19 patients.
According to the research conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), bacterial and fungal infections are causing fatalities among Covid-19 patients. The study showed that 56 per cent of Covid-19 patients with secondary infection died as a result of bacterial or fungal infections. The research, which took place between June and August of last year, discovered that many coronavirus patients had a secondary bacterial or fungal infection during or after treatment, which resulted in mortality in more than half of the cases.
The study involved 17,534 Covid patients, out of which 3.6 per cent developed a secondary bacterial or fungal infection and the mortality among these patients was at 56.7 per cent. That indicates that half of the Covid-19 patients who had secondary infections died.
In the case of secondary infections, the death rate was double compared to the total death rate of Covid-19 patients admitted to hospitals. This indicates the susceptibility of those who become infected. As per the study, the most prevalent secondary infection locations in Covid-19 patients were blood and respiratory sites. Gram-negative bacteria predominated in respiratory infections, with Gram-positive bacteria accounting for a considerable proportion of Gram-positive pathogens identified from bloodstream infections.
The ICMR study highlighted that there is an increasing antibiotic resistance, which has played a significant role in patients suffering secondary infections. "As most of the secondary infections in our study were nosocomial in origin, and that too with highly drug-resistant pathogens, it highlighted poor infection control practices and irrational antibiotic prescription practices," said the ICMR study.
Amid the rapid surge in cases of mucormycosis, the Union Health Ministry requested that states develop and execute infection prevention and control programmes in hospitals in accordance with the National Guidelines for Infection and Control in Healthcare Facilities.
