Mucormycosis is an infection that is popularly known as the black fungus. This condition got popularised and got people’s attention only after it’s outbreak in patient’s suffering from the deadly covid virus. This condition might be rare but is said to be very dangerous as it can affect the organs such as lungs, brain, skin and sinus. This condition is caused due to inhalation of the mould spores or either just by coming in contact with it. With black fungus or mucormycosis itself being a problematic condition, it can cause even more discomfort when followed by dengue. The rare condition of post dengue mucormycosis has the potential to turn into a fatal disease but is still manageable. Read along to know more about this severe condition along with its symptoms, causes and treatment from Dr. Suranjit Chatterjee, Senior Consultant Internal Medicine, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals.
What is Mucormycosis / Black Fungus?
In order to understand about post dengue Mucormycosis and complications caused due to this condition, first it is important to know what actually Mucormycosis is? Black fungus/ Mucormycosis is a rare infectious condition caused by inhaling or coming in contact with the moulds. Getting in contact with these moulds and by getting infected with this infection can lead to affecting
Also Read: Rare Black Fungus Case Linked To Dengue Recovery In A Delhi Hospital; Read More
various organs of a person’s body such as sinus, eyes, brain, skin and lungs. Where this mucormycosis can affect a person of any age or gender, there are some conditions that tend to make a person more vulnerable to this condition such as organ transplant, AIDS, poor nutrition, diabetes, neutropenia, etc. Not all the people suffering from this condition would get affected by this infection, but they are said to be at a higher risk of getting infected than the others due to a weak immunity and incompatible immune system. With mucormycosis being a nasal sinus infection, it can even affect the brain, eyes, oral cavity, sinuses, nose and eyes. With these being the major areas that this condition affects, it is a very aggressive disease. If not treated properly it can lead to destroying these major organs and hence due to this infection there can be a loss of vision, reduced brain activity and it can affect various major systems of the body and can even kill you.
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Causes of Mucormycosis
Although the condition of mucormycosis is very rare, there are several things that can cause this condition and lead to the occurrence of this bacterial infection such as-
Unhealthy lifestyle habits
- Poor eating habits
- Pollution
- Low Immunity
- Increasing stress levels
Symptoms of Mucormycosis
Knowing the symptoms of a disease or condition becomes really important as it helps in early detection and timely treatment. Doing so can be really helpful in avoiding the further complications of this condition. Here we have listed some of the common symptoms of this condition-
- Vision loss
- Chest pain
- Cough
- Fever
- Headache
- Nausea
- Blood traces in stool
- Sinus congestion
- Short breath
- Swollen face
What is the relationship between Mucormycosis & Dengue?
IImage Credits- Economic Times
Also Read: Know About 7 Warning Signs Of Dengue Fever From The Expert
Where mucormycosis is a rare condition in itself, post dengue mucormycosis is said to be even rarer. Where dengue is an illness caused due to viral infection, mucormycosis is a fungal infection that occurs when a person comes in contact with the infection causing moulds. There are various factors that can contribute to this rare condition, let us take a step ahead and understand it in a better way from our expert Dr. Suranjit Chatterjee- “Dengue and mucormycosis are not something very usual but are very uncommon things. There are some incidental findings because of the suspicion that the doctors have and due to the availability of more diagnosis techniques. What we are seeing is more infections than the previous year because of the lack of afimility that people suffer from, like not having a healthy lifestyle, pollution, stress, wrong eating habits and all these things contribute to more infections that people are having. Mucor is a fungal infection where dengue is a viral infection and it is not really well known that post dengue the immunity gets compromised but the person with this infection is immunocompromised to some extent so they catch both the infection together.”
How to treat mucormycosis?
Where medical sciences have seen so much advancement in the past few years, it has also come up with ways to treat even these rare conditions of post dengue mucormycosis. With mucormycosis being a fungal infection and dengue being a viral condition, let us take a quick look at the ways of treating this condition as suggested by Dr. Suranjit Chatterjee.
As mucormycosis is such a severe condition that it not just affects major organs of your body but can also lead to a person’s death, it becomes really important to diagnose it and treat it on time. The treatment for this condition needs to be initiated as soon as possible so that the complications would be much less. Although this is a difficult disease to treat as its treatment is long term and one needs to be treated with very good antifungals. Along with these antifungal medications, in some cases people might also require surgery in order to clear out the fungus from different organs as it can not be treated otherwise.
With inputs from Dr. Suranjit Chatterjee, Senior Consultant Internal Medicine, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals.