Covid Crisis in India: ‘Black fungus’ surges among virus patients

India has ordered tighter surveillance of a rare fungal disease hitting Covid-19 patients, officials said yesterday, piling pressure on hospitals struggling with the world's highest number of daily infections of the novel coronavirus.

Mucormycosis, or "black fungus" usually infects people whose immune system has been compromised, causing blackening or discolouration over the nose, blurred or double vision, chest pain, breathing difficulties and coughing blood.

Doctors believe that the use of steroids to treat severe Covid-19 could be causing the rash of cases because those drugs reduce immunity and push up sugar levels.

Health Secretary Lav Agarwal said in a letter to state governments that mucormycosis had emerged as a new challenge for Covid-19 patients on steroid therapy and those with pre-existing diabetes.

"This fungal infection is leading to prolonged morbidity and mortality among Covid-19 patients," he said in the letter reviewed by Reuters.

He gave no numbers of the Mucormycosis cases nationwide but Maharashtra, one of the states worst hit in the second wave of coronavirus infections, has reported 1,500 cases of it.

Agarwal asked state governments to declare it as a "notifiable disease" under the Epidemics Act, meaning they have to identify and track every case.

India yesterday reported 276,110 new coronavirus infections over the previous 24 hours, slightly higher than a day earlier but well below the 400,000 high seen at the beginning of this month in a devastating second wave.

The total caseload stands at 25.77 million, the world's second highest after the United States. Deaths rose by 3,874 overnight, taking the total tally 287,122.

But with hospitals and crematoria overflowing and the health system overwhelmed, it is widely accepted that the official figures grossly underestimate the real impact of the epidemic, with some experts saying infections and deaths could be five to 10 times higher.

The second wave has penetrated deep into the countryside and the additional burden of mucormycosis has hit a rural health system ill-equipped to cope.

SP Kalantari, a doctor based in Sevagram, a town in Maharashtra, said that a team including ear, nose, and throat surgeons, ophthalmologists and neurologists was needed to treat mucormycosis.

"Unfortunately, this kind of team does not exist in rural areas," Kalantari said.

DOUBLE-MASKING

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday urged district magistrates to collect data on children being infected with Covid-19 amidst experts warning about the possibility of a third wave of the disease which could hit the younger population as the virus is mutating.

Modi said "concerns have been raised for young people and children due to the mutation of the virus".

The Indian government recommended the use of double mask and cross-ventilation of homes on an urgent basis to help check the spread of the disease irrespective of its variant.

The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser has issued an advisory that asked people to wear double masks or a N95 mask and ventilation of houses as part of non-pharmaceutical intervention to control the coronavirus, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) also issued an advisory on its website for Covid-19 home testing where an individual will be able to test himself or herself without the presence of any medical professional.

Giving details of how to conduct this test, the ICMR said it has approved a kit called "CoviSelf" for home testing and only nasal swab will be required for this rapid antigen testing.

However, ICMR cautioned this should not be used indiscriminately and only those who have Covid-19 symptoms and those who are immediate contacts of laboratory-confirmed positive cases should go for home-based testing.

The pandemic has killed at least 3,419,488 people worldwide since the virus first emerged in late 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data yesterday.

Malaysia reported a new daily record in coronavirus infections and deaths yesterday, as the country deals with spike in the number and severity of new cases.

It announced 59 Covid-19 fatalities, a record toll for the third day this week, while its 6,806 new cases was the second straight day of record infections.

Singapore yesterday ordered Facebook and Twitter to carry a correction notice to users of the social media platforms in the country over what it says is a false statement about a new virus variant originating in Singapore.

The move came after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a Twitter post this week that a new form of the virus that was particularly harmful to children had come to Singapore, and urged for a ban on flights.

A World Health Organization director warned yesterday that progress against the pandemic remains "fragile" and international travel should be avoided, while stressing that authorised vaccines work against variants of concern.

"Right now, in the face of a continued threat and new uncertainty, we need to continue to exercise caution, and rethink or avoid international travel," WHO's European director Hans Kluge said, before adding that "pockets of increasing transmission" on the continent could quickly spread.