Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital sees rise in 'Mucormycosis' cases triggered by COVID-19

Amid the acute devastating second wave of COVID-19 gripping the national capital with hospitals using all the resources at their disposal to save the lives of patients, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) is again seeing a rise in COVID-19 triggered Mucormycosis cases.

According to Dr Manish Munjal, Senior ENT Surgeon at SGRH, "We are seeing a rise again in this dangerous fungal infection triggered by COVID-19. In the last two days, we have admitted six cases of Mucormycosis. Last year, this deadly infection caused high mortality with many patients suffering from loss of eyesight, removal of nose and jaw bone."

Dr Ajay Swaroop, Chairman, Department of ENT, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said that the use of steroids in the treatment of COVID infection and many patients suffering from diabetes as comorbidity could possibly be one of the reasons for the rise in cases of black fungus infections.

"COVID patients with weak immunity are more prone to this deadly infection," Dr Swaroop added.

Dr Munjal stated that early clinical suspicion on symptoms such as nose obstruction, swelling in the eyes or cheeks and black crusts in the nose should immediately prompt a biopsy and start of antifungal therapy as early as possible.

According to Dr Ajay Swaroop, "This infection is commonly seen in COVID-19 recovered patients with co-morbidities such as diabetes or kidney/heart failure or cancer."

India's COVID-19 situation

The nation continues to grapple with the menace of COVID-19, as the second virulent wave. New Coronavirus cases and deaths in India hit a record daily high with 4,12,262 new infections and 3,980 fatalities being reported, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,10,77,410 and the death toll to 2,30,168, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday. The active cases have increased to 35,66,398 comprising 16.92 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 81.99 per cent. Leading scientists and experts believe the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is inevitable and may arrive as early as October this year. The devastating wave has strained the health infrastructure of the country exhausting the medical resources as the country continues to fight the pandemic with all its might.

(IMAGE: Facebook/Pixabay)