COVID-19 Triggered Mucormycosis on the rise again

Amid a high surge in the number of Covid cases, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital is again seeing a rise in COVID-19 triggered Mucormycosis cases.

In December last year, the hospital had seen 10 cases of the fungal infection in patients with Covid-19 or those who had recently recovered from it in a period of fifteen days.

According to Dr Manish Munjal, Sr ENT Surgeon at SGRH “We are seeing a rise again in this dangerous fungal infection triggered by Covid 19. In last 2 days we have admitted 6 cases of Mucormycosis. Last year this deadly infection caused a high mortality with many patients suffering from loss of eye sight, removal of nose and jaw bone.”

According to Dr Ajay Swaroop, Chairman, Department of ENT, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, “Use of steroids in treatment of Covid infection plus the fact that many Covid patients have diabetes as co-morbidity could be one of the reasons for this rise in black fungus infection again. Covid patients with weak immunity are more prone to this deadly infection.”

Dr Munjal further added, “Early clinical suspicion on symptoms such as nose obstruction, swelling in the eyes or cheeks and black crusts in the nose should immediately prompt a biopsy and start of antifungal therapy as early as possible.”

According to Dr Ajay Swaroop, “This infection is commonly seen in COVID-19 recovered patients with co-morbidities such as diabetes or kidney/ heart failure or cancer.”