'Black fungus' found in brains of many patients in Indore

Mucormycosis or 'black fungus' has been detected in the brains of at least 15 per cent of patients admitted for the infection in Government Maharaja Yeshwantrao Hospital in Indore in Madhya Pradesh, a senior doctor said on Monday.

Of the 368 mucormycosis patients admitted in MYH, an initial study has shown that 55 of them have the infection in their brains, and this has been confirmed by CT (computerised tomography) and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans, said Dr Rakesh Gupta, head of department, neurosurgery, MYH.

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While most of these patients had a "small size infection" in their brains, four had to go undergo major brain surgery to prevent the spread of infection, Dr Gupta said.

He said the infection had reached the brains of these patients through their sinus before hospitalisation.

Some other experts said the initial symptoms of 'black fungus' infection in the brain included headache and vomiting, with the patient later losing consciousness as the infection spreads.

Meanwhile, another official said the shortage of Amphotericin-B injections was affecting efforts to tackle the 'black fungus' infection.

While 'black fungus' infection is being found mostly in Covid-19 patients and those who had recovered from it, there are some cases where mucormycosis has struck those who never contracted coronavirus.