Eyes of three children infected with Black Fungus removed in Mumbai, 16-year-old develops fungus in stomach

In a shocking incident, three children infected with Black Fungus or Mucormycosis had to lose an eye each. The three children, 4, 6, and 14 years old, were operated upon at two different hospitals in Mumbai. Mucormycosis or Black Fungus cases in children are a worrying sign say, doctors. 

As per the media reports, the 14-year-old has been suffering from diabetes. "After she came to us one of her eyes turned black within 48 hours. The fungus was spreading to the nose too. Luckily, it did not reach the brain. We treated her for six weeks; unfortunately, she lost her eye," said Dr Jesal Sheth, Senior Consultant Paediatrician at Fortis Hospital.

Another child, a 16-year-old, who became diabetic a month after recovering from COVID-19, doctors found Black Fungus spreading near her stomach. 

The doctor who treated her said that she was healthy a month ago. She had recovered from COVID-19 and was not diabetic. But she suddenly developed diabetes. Her intestines started bleeding. Angiography was done where it was found that Black Fungus had infected blood vessels near her stomach.

The 4-year-old and the 6-year-old child were admitted to Mumbai's KBH Bachooali Ophthalmic and ENT Hospital. Both had COVID-19. The doctors said that Black Fungus was spreading in their eyes and if they had not removed the eyes, their lives would have been in danger.

"They were already blind in one eye and it was hurting them badly. One child came to us in December last year. The second case came during the second wave," said Dr Prithesh Shetty, Oculoplasty, Ocular Oncology and Ocular Prosthetic at the hospital.

COVID-19 patients with high diabetes, whose immune response has weakened due to over intake of steroids, are more prone to contracting Mucormycosis. Treatment for the condition includes drugs such as amphotericin B or posaconazole, both of which are readily available.