‘Black fungus’ and COVID-19: Myths and facts

In India, COVID-19 has led to a surge in cases of a potentially fatal mycosis called mucormycosis, popularly referred to as “black fungus.” The infection is equally as dangerous because the media have portrayed it, but several myths are circulating on social media about potential sources of the infection and its treatment.

A doctor examines a patient for mucormycosis at a hospital in Bhopal, India, on May 29, 2021. Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images

The physical body isn’t the standard habitat for fungi that belong to the Mucorales , which incorporates species typically found in soil, dust, decomposing vegetation, and animal dung.

Our system is typically quite a match for the fungi, but an “unholy trinity” of diabetes, COVID-

19, and steroid treatment can weaken a person’s immunity to such an extent that these microorganisms can gain an edge .

Diabetes not only increases a person’s risk of severe COVID-19 but also provides conditions during which fungal infections can thrive. to form matters worse, both COVID19 and therefore the steroid dexamethasone, which medical care doctors use to treat it, suppress immunity.

Stay informed with live updates on the present COVID-19 outbreak and visit our coronavirus hub for more advice on prevention and treatment.

The ensuing infection, referred to as mucormycosis or zygomycosis, spreads rapidly from the nose and sinuses to the face, jaw, eyes, and brain.

On May 26, 2021, there have been 11,717 confirmed cases of mucormycosis in India, which has more peopleTrusted Source living with diabetes than the other country within the world, except China.

Even before the pandemic, the prevalence of mucormycosis may are 70 times higher in India than the general figure for the remainder of the planet .

The fungus blocks blood flow, which killsTrusted Source infected tissue, and it’s this dead, or necrotic, tissue that causes the characteristic black discoloration of people’s skin, instead of the fungus itself.

Nonetheless, the term “black fungus” seems to possess stuck.

Prof. Malcolm Richardson, a professor of medical mycology at the University of

Manchester within the uk , told Medical News Today that the name is “totally inappropriate.”

“The agents of mucormycosis — Rhizopus oryzae, for instance — are hyaline (transparent),” he wrote in an email.

“From a mycological point of view, the term ‘black fungus’ (or ‘black yeasts’) is restricted to fungi called dematiaceous, which have melanin in their cell walls. many of us have tried to correct this on Twitter but to no avail.”