Thousands need eyes removed for Covid-induced black fungus

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Thousands of patients in India have had their eyes removed after an outbreak of 'black fungus' caused by mutant Covid.

Around 60 per cent of patients treated in hospital have had at least one eye removed after the second wave of coronavirus caused an explosion of the creeping fungal disease.

The rare condition is caused by moulds known as mucromycetes which can kill people whose immune systems are weak.

When the spores - which occur naturally in the environment - are breathed in, they attack the lungs and sinuses before spreading to the face and the brain.

Mucormycosis causes blurred or double vision, chest pain and breathing difficulties.

Anil Wankhede, 54, developed a headache and a swollen right eye after he was discharged from hospital after being treated for Covid-19.

He said that he did not seek further medical help because his brother Mahendra had already paid for his treatment.

Anil said: "I didn’t want to trouble my brother yet again with a new problem. He had already done so much for me.”

Ten days after he developed the fungus symptoms, Anil was told by Dr Akshay Nair that his right eye would need to be removed and his sinuses stripped.

Dr Nair said: "If we don’t remove the entire contents, along with all the tissue, nerves and eyelid, the infection can invade the brain.

"At that stage, we can’t save their lives."

At least 7,250 such cases have been found across the country as of May 19.

"In this battle of ours, another new challenge of black fungus has also emerged these days," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted on Friday.

India has the second-highest tally of Covid-19 cases in the world and has been reporting around 250,000 infections and 4,000 deaths daily.

Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk