KARACHI – Several hospitals across Pakistan have started to report cases of coronavirus patients being hit by a rare black fungus, infectious diseases specialists said Tuesday.
According to the report of *The News*, many centers with such cases were not reporting them as it is very hard to diagnose deadly fungal infection.
A physician of Sindh capital while speaking with the newspaper told that they have seen more than five cases of Black Fungus, Mucormycosis, among critically ill Covid patients at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
According to the health experts, the deadly fungus also found in non-covid patients with similar co-morbidities and prolonged stay in the critical units. Experts believe that the fungal infection primarily affects people with weak immune systems that reduce their ability to fight environmental pathogens.
Many experts believe that the use of steroids among Covid-19 patients, the Covid virus itself, and uncontrolled diabetes combined with a long stay in the ICUs provide ideal conditions for the black fungus to attack the person.
Before Pakistan, hundreds of patients in India also lost their lives with it as the fungus grows in a hot and humid climate.