A patient of post-COVID mucormycosis, or black fungus, has been successfully treated by doctors at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi on Monday, 20 September.
The patient, Ranjeet Kumar Singh, a 34 year old man from Ghaziabad was admitted to the hospital with post-COVID complications including breathing difficulties, blood in sputum and high grade fever.
According to a statement released by them, this is the first known case of mucormycosis (Black fungus) Involving a kidney, lung and sinus post COVID infection successfully.
"This case is being reported in medical literature as the first case in the world after Covid infection,” said Dr Manu Gupta, Consultant, Department of Urology, at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in the statement.
Mucormycosis, is a serious but rare fungal infection caused by a group of moulds called micromycetes.
Speaking to FIT for a previous article, Dr Aparna Mahajan, Consultant, ENT at Fortis Hospital, Faridabad had explained, "It is most commonly found in the nose, the sinuses, the eyes and the brain. Once it spreads to the brain, it can be very difficult to treat."
What made this case of mucormycosis especially unique and challenging was that it had also spread to the man's left lung and right kidney.
“It was a complicated case in which Mucor had penetrated part of lung and kidney. Time was the essences in this case to save the patient as other organs could have been affected,' said Dr Manu Gupta.
"The involvement of the kidney was total, and the kidney had become non functional. During surgery the fungus was found almost spreading to the liver, and the large intestine."Dr Manu Gupta, Consultant, Department of Urology, at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital
Cases of mucormycosis are time sensitive because of how fast it can spread and the considerable damage it can do to the affected organs.
To treat the infection, a team of doctors at the hospital had to remove a part of the affected lung and the patient's right kidney altogether.
Speaking of the patient's condition now, Dr Ujjwal Parakh, Senior Consultant, Department of Chest Medicine at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said, “he is recovering well and would be on oral antifungal medicine for few more weeks. The patient has been discharged after 45 days of prolonged antifungal therapy. He is doing well now.”
Mucormycosis used to be a rare infection, but saw a sudden surge during and after the second wave of COVID-19 in the country.
Back in May, when the infection was first noted in COVID recovered patients, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital was among the first to sound an alarm.
Symptoms of Mucormycosis
If you have recently recovered from COVID, especially if you had severe illness, were hospitalised, or have been on steroid based medicines, consult a doctor immediately if you notice a combination of these symptoms.
Redness in the eyes
Fever
Shortness of breath
Bloody vomit
Altered mental state
Any kind of facial swelling, especially around the eyes and cheeks
Runny nose
Nasal congestion
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