Jahangeer Ganaie
Srinagar, Jun 1: As J&K along with the rest of the world is fighting the deadly pandemic, cases of black fungus are coming to fore in different parts of India and experts term it as an epidemic in pandemic.
Experts believe that such fungus are available everywhere in the environment, however, they can’t affect healthy persons as such fungus are opportunistic and can affect weak persons who are immune compressed.
Dr M S Khuroo renowned Gastroenterologist and Chairman Covid Advisory Committee said that there are six opportunistic fungus which includes black, white and yellow fungus but can’t affect healthy people despite the fungus being available everywhere.
He said that factors responsible for black fungus include low immunity levels, unsanitary conditions, overuse of steroids.
He said that people with pre-existing morbidity such as diabetes, impaired kidney function, and cancer are at higher risk of getting infected.
“The symptoms are swelling on one side of the face, severe headache, nasal congestion, black lesions on the nose or upper side of the mouth, chest pain, breathlessness and difficulties in chewing opening the mouth,” Khuroo said.
Khuroo said the yellow fungus starts to manifest itself internally before exhibiting physical or bodily symptoms and unsanitary conditions, contaminated food and exposure to unhygienic medical equipment are causing this variant of the infection.
“White fungus is basically candidiasis, a fungal infection caused by a type of fungus called Candida. It is the most common fungal infection and can affect nail bed, skin, stomach, kidney, brain and reproductive organs and the symptoms are whitening of tongue, cough, fever, diarrhoea, dark spots in the lungs and reduced oxygen levels,” he said.
He further added that doctors should not wait for diagnosis but start treatment once a patient is suspected as waiting for diagnosis can take time which can prove dangerous.
“Half of the patients who have fungus need surgeries but the best prevention is that we should keep ourselves far from Covid by following Covid appropriate behavior and take vaccines,” he said.
