Black Fungus: Rare case of brain infection recorded in Gujarat, 1 dead

As India gears up to fight the dreaded Black Fungus or Mucormycosis disease, the doctors recently came across a 23-year-old young man from Surat, Gujarat, with a rare case of mucormycosis, wherein his sinus, eyes, and lungs, which are usually found infected in mucormycosis patients, were completely unaffected.

After conducting surgery and biopsy, the doctors got to know that the infection was in the patient's brain. This is the first such incident ever recorded by doctors where the dreaded black fungus affected the brain directly. 

Advisory issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research for screening, diagnosis, and management of mucormycosis does not mention symptoms like fits and brain edema.

As for the Surat man, he succumbed to the infection after the treatment. 

In other news, a case of White Fungus has been also found in a patient from the Mau district in Uttar Pradesh. The white fungus was detected in a 70-year-old man who had been earlier treated for COVID-19 at a Delhi hospital in April and was discharged following his recovery.

He was consistently on steroids following his recovery from COVID-19. After some time, he developed eye floaters (jelly-like substance inside the eyes) and lost his eyesight. Following his vitreous biopsy, the White Fungus infection was confirmed.

The man is undergoing treatment. Medical experts say that not much evidence has been found of the White Fungus spreading to other states, but experts feel that it can be as virulent as the virus, as per the reports. The mortality rate of White Fungus is currently unknown.