Scientists from CDC found that many patients who have or are recovering from COVID-19 then contract a sometimes deadly fungal infection known as mucormycosis—also known as “black fungus.”
The cases of the disease are hitting COVID-19 patients in the United States.
The research is published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
‘Black fungus’ is caused by a variety of naturally occurring fungi that are typically harmless, but can trigger illness in people whose immune systems have been depleted by illness, including COVID-19.
It can also develop on the skin after the fungus enters the skin through a cut, scrape, burn or other types of skin trauma.
The team says that once established the disease is tough to treat. In some patients, this may result in loss of the upper jaw or sometimes even the eye.
The cure may also involve a 4-6-week course of intravenous antifungal therapy.
In the study, the team reported 10 cases of black fungus illness in patients treated at six Arkansas hospitals between July 12 and Sept. 28, 2021.
All had tested positive for COVID within the prior two months, and eight of the 10 patients also had diabetes—another noted risk factor for the disease.
The team found many cases were severe—four patients showed disease that had spread to the nose and mouth, with three of those patients also having the brain affected.
In two cases, the illness attacked the lungs, and in one case the gastrointestinal system was affected. None of the patients had been vaccinated against the new coronavirus.
Besides battling mucormycosis, eight of the patients suffered such severe cases of COVID-19 that they required either supplemental oxygen or mechanical ventilation to breathe.
Most patients did not survive their ordeal. Five patients received surgical treatment to excise mucormycosis-affected tissue. Six of the 10 patients died during hospitalization or within one week of discharge.
The team says as patients battle COVID-19, some of them may also be receiving medications that suppress their immune systems, such as dexamethasone or tocilizumab, and many may have already suffered lung damage.
If you care about Covid, please read studies about vitamin D deficiency linked to severe COVID-19 and death, and why people with blood type O have lower COVID-19 risk.
For more information about Covid, please see recent studies about a big cause of severe COVID-19 and death, and results showing people over 50s may develop this disease after COVID-19.
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