New Delhi: About 12,000 cases of a condition known as “black fungus” have been reported in India, mostly in patients recovering from Covid-19.
This severe infection is normally very rare and has a mortality rate of about 50%.
Some medical experts have suggested India has seen cases growing because of the high prevalence of diabetes.
But are other factors at work and what is happening in other countries?
Prior to the Covid pandemic, at least 38 countries around the world had reported cases of mucormycosis, more commonly known as black fungus.
India had the highest rates with around 140 cases per million annually, according to Leading International Fungal Education.
Dr David Denning at the University of Manchester, an expert on fungal infections, says reported cases of black fungus in India were “masses more than any other part of the world” well before the pandemic.
“Mucormycosis is strongly linked with poorly controlled diabetes and there’s a lot of it [diabetes] in India.”
In patients recovering from Covid-19, according to a recent research paper looking at cases globally, 94% of those who had the fungal infection also suffered from diabetes. And the majority (71%) of the reported cases of black fungus were from India. Web Desk
