At least six persons have been diagnosed with Mucormycosis or the black fungus in Coimbatore district.
Confirming the cases, District Collector S. Nagarajan said that Mucormycosis is a notifiable disease and a private hospital has notified six patients, who were diagnosed with the disease. He added that it was an “evolving situation”.
Mucormycosis is a rare but aggressive fungal infection caused by a group of moulds called mucormycetes which affects persons who have recently recovered from COVID-19.
A private hospital in Coimbatore said that it had already alerted the ENT and Ophthalmology Departments to look for possible cases of the black fungus infection going by the symptoms.
Stuffy nose, double vision, one sided facial pain, swelling/numbness around neck, bloody blackish/brownish discharge from nose, blackish discoloration of skin, swelling of eyelid and redness of eyes are some of the symptoms of the infection.
A multidisciplinary team comprising ENT surgeon, ophthalmologist, infection control specialist and maxillofacial surgeon is required for effective diagnosis and the treatment of the infection, says J.S. Bhuvaneswaran, Medical Director, PSG Hospitals, Coimbatore.
“Amphotericin-B is the main drug of choice for the treatment of Mucormycosis. Surgical or medical intervention is followed for the treatment depending on the severity of cases. Though the infection is said to be caused in an immunocompromised state, mostly post-COVID-19 treatment stage, other aspects of the infection are being discussed now,” he adds.
According to him, the State government made a good move by notifying Mucormycosis as an epidemic so that hospitals would be prepared to handle cases.
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