'Black fungus' more likely to affect men: Study

The study lends weight to the hypothesis that pre-existing diabetes and steroid overuse are leading causes of the infection

Men are more likely to catch the deadly 'black fungus' that rides on the coat-tails of the Covid-19 disease , when patients with acute diabetes are treated with copious amounts of steroids, a soon-to-be-published study has found. The study reviewed literature from across the world on Covid-recovered patients who contracted mucormycosis and sought to contextualise it in statistical form.

Given the recent increase in cases of mucormycosis in patients who have Covid-19 or are recovering from the infection, the study had a relatively small sample size of 101. India accounted for a bulk of cases at 82, while only 19 were reported from the rest of the world. The study also found that almost 80% patients reported with the fungal infection were male.

The analysis also gave credence to the two big hypothetical reasons being suggested for the rapid increase in the otherwise rare fungal infection — pre-existing diabetes and the overuse of steroids to treat Covid-19. Pre-existing diabetes mellitus was found to be present in 80% of cases, while 76.3% had been treated for the coronavirus with corticosteroids.

Read | Covid-19 crisis: Which states in India have reported the highest number of mucormycosis cases?

The mortality rate of the fungal infection in Covid-19 patients so far stood at a shade over 30%, but is still lower than the overall mortality rate of 54%, according to data from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. This may be because almost 90% of the cases of post-Covid mucormycosis so far, according to the study, have affected the sinuses, which is less likely to lead to death than if it affects the lungs or enters the bloodstream.

“An unholy trinity of diabetes, rampant use of corticosteroid in a background of COVID-19 appears to increase mucormycosis,” the study’s authors write, “All efforts should be made to maintain optimal glucose and only judicious use of corticosteroids in patients with COVID-19.”

At least 5,500 people across the country have been affected by the fungal infection, while more than 125 have died as a result, prompting several states and union territories to declare it an epidemic to pre-emptively monitor the disease and get a head-start on a possible outbreak.