Black fungus infection Mucormycosis has been on the rise among Covid-19 patients in Ahmedabad for the last 15-20 days, doctors have said. Around 67 patients are being treated for the same in the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) ward of BJ Medical College and 45 of them are scheduled to undergo surgery, Dr Kalpesh Patel, associate professor in the hospital told news agency ANI on Saturday.
“There’s been a rise in cases of mucormycosis in Covid patients for the last 15-20 days. Currently, 67 patients are in the ENT ward alone. Of which, 45 are yet to undergo surgery. We’re conducting 5-7 operations daily,” said Dr Patel.
Doctor believe mucormycosis, which has an overall mortality rate of 50%, may be being triggered by the use of steroids, a life-saving treatment for severe and critically ill Covid-19 patients.
Steroids reduce inflammation in the lungs for Covid-19 and appear to help stop some of the damage that can happen when the body’s immune system goes into overdrive to fight off coronavirus. But they also reduce immunity and push up blood sugar levels in both diabetics and non-diabetic Covid-19 patients. It’s thought that this drop in immunity could be triggering these cases of mucormycosis.
