Don't panic by colour of fungus, look for causes, risks: Experts

Amid rising Mucormycosis cases among Covid19 patients and those who have recovered from it epidemiologists Tuesday advised people to not get panicked by the colour of the fungus causing it and underlined the importance of analysing the kind of infection its causes and associated riskfactorsHealth Minister Harsh Vardhan had said on Monday that 18 states have reported 5424 cases of Mucormycosis a lifethreatening infection prevalent among Covid19 patients and those who recovered from the viral diseaseBeside Black Fungus cases White and Yellow Fungus infections too were reported from different parts of the country recently which scientists say are also MucormycosisDr Samiran Panda the Head of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR said the use of terms like black green or yellow fungus is making people scared and apprehensiveAlso Read Maharashtra govt declares Mucormycosis as notifiable diseaseAlso Black Fungus getting synonymous with existing Mucormycosis is complicating things he saidFor common people he told PTI I will say not to be driven by panic by colour black yellow white Let us find what kind of fungal infection is the person infected with as most fungal infections that cause fatal or severe disease are invasive fungal infection so that can occur when there is reduction or compromise in immunitySo basic underlying phenomenon is immunity or the ability to fight the fungal infection he saidIn Ghaziabad a person was detected with three variants of the fungus Black White and Yellow on May 24 claimed a doctor of a private hospital who is treating the 59yearold patient in the NCR city in Uttar PradeshYellow Fungus has been observed in reptiles such as lizards but not in human beings claimed Dr B P Tyagi an ENT Ear Nose Throat specialist at Harsh Hospital in citys Raj Nagar areaThe patient had come to me with conditions of extreme weakness giddiness fever and nasal discharge The Yellow Fungus was detected during the endoscopy the doctor told PTIThis is the first case of a person having three variants of the fungus Black White and Yellow he claimedHe said the patient a lawyer by profession had Covid19 but was in home isolation and approached the hospital after enduring these problems for eight to 10 daysHe is under treatment now There is nothing to worry and the fungus would be removed Had he come to me after one or two days only his problem would have been resolved by now Tyagi saidHe said fungi attack people with compromised immunity and in this particular case the patient is a diabeticAsked about the Yellow Fungus case ICMRs Dr Panda said the specimen has to be studied to ensure it indeed was Yellow Fungus which is seen in reptilesProfessor Dr Giridhara R Babu the head of Lifecourse Epidemiology Indian Institute of Public Health said it is important to identify the cause and riskfactors associated with fungal infectionsWhen a disease such as Mucormycosis exists in a community what kind of investigations are we doing As an epidemiologist I am interested in identifying the particular cause of it then what is the set of causes that will result in a condition like this the reason it was not seen in the first wave and it has been seen in the second wave only he saidBabu also said it needs to be understood why some people are more prone to the fungal infection and what is the reason behind rising casesIn the second wave there are some unusual things happening which were not there in the first wave such as the use of industrial oxygen There are also variants of coronavirus in the second wave he saidHe said viral and fungal infections are always around but most people dont get impacted because of their good immunity or less infective nature of the virus or the fungusbut if that changesand they become more infective or our immunity reduces then we are at a higher risk What I will definitely call for is one can buy tons of antifungal agents but if you dont find what is the cause and riskfactors leading to this then we will not be able to solve it I think that is where we should focus as a country he saidAIIMS Director Randeep Guleria has also said that it is better to identify Mucormycosis by its name rather than by the colourLabelling the same fungus with names of different colors can create confusion Mucormycosis is not a communicable disease unlike Covid19 About 9095 per cent of patients getting infected with Mucormycosis are found to have been either diabetic andor taking steroids This infection is seen very rarely in those who are neither diabetic nor taking steroids he had told reporters recentlyHe had said in general there are various types of fungal infections such as candida aspergillosis cryptococcus histoplasmosis and coccidioidomycosisMucormycosis candida and aspergillosis are the ones observed more in those with low immunity he saidGuleria had also said no definite link of Mucormycosis has been seen with oxygen therapyThis story has been sourced 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