Cases of ‘Black Fungus’ emerge in Pakistan

KARACHI: Mucormycosis also called ‘Black Fungus’ has been detected among several Covid-19 patients across Pakistan, ARY News reported, quoting sources.

They relayed four patients have thus far died due to the dangerous fungal infection.

Several healthcare facilities have reported cases of Black Fungus, the sources said.

According to infectious diseases experts, Mucormycosis is a fungal infection caused by a group of moulds called mucormycetes, found in soil and in decaying vegetation.

The infection affects the sinuses, brain, lungs, skin and kidneys, and symptoms depends on where in the body the fungi is growing.

Most commonly, patients present with a blocked nose and sinus pain, but they often also get a headache and fever.

People can lose their sight if the eye socket becomes infected, and the infection can spread to the brain, causing seizures, coma and comprehension difficulties.

With patients who get the infection on their skin, mucormycosis can look like blisters or ulcers, and the skin may turn black.