White Fungus: What causes the infection and who are at risk of contracting it

-

Amid a rise in Black Fungus infections among COVID-19 patients or survivors, four cases of White Fungus infection have been reported from Bihar’s Patna. According to news agency PTI, one case has also been reported from Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur.

The central government last week asked states to notify Black Fungus or Mucormycosis as an epidemic.

How does White Fungus infect a person?

As per the Times of India, the White Fungus infection is caused due to fungi moulds present in the environment. The disease isn't contagious, but a person is said to be vulnerable to the infection since these moulds can be easily inhaled by a patient. After inhalation, the moulds can spread to vital organs and cause complications thereafter.

Who are at risk?

Dr Arunesh Kumar, senior consultant and head respiratory medicine/pulmonology, Paras Hospital, told The Indian Express that the White Fungus infection affects the lungs as well as other parts of the body including nails, skin, stomach, kidney, brain, private parts and the mouth.

Kumar told the newspaper that those with weakened immunity, such as diabetes and cancer patients, and those taking steroids for a long period of time are more vulnerable to the infection. The White Fungus infection is also affecting COVID-19 patients on oxygen support, he added.

Dr Kavita Sachdeva, head of the ENT department at government-run Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College hospital in Jabalpur, told news agency PTI that white fungus is not a new disease, nor is it as fatal as mucormycosis, and is curable with commonly available medicines.

White fungus is curable with commonly available medicines and does not need expensive injections unlike in the case of mucormycosis, nor is it as deadly, Dr Sachdeva added.

"It has no direct connection with diabetes, but diabetes aggravates most infections, bacterial and fungal," she further said.

With inputs from PTI

 



from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3vcgbO4
FP Trending

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Both COVID-19 vaccine doses needed for good protection against B16172 variant

-
It’s been a concerning few weeks in the UK, with the B16172 variant first taking hold and then spreading to become dominant. This more infectious form of the virus, initially identified in India, is what we’re now going to have to live with – unless it is out-competed by another variant in the future. Worryingly, experts had predicted that B16172 might be able to escape some of the effects of vaccines, which if true would threaten to derail the UK’s plans to finish lifting restrictions from the end of June. However, Public Health England (PHE) has looked at the ability of various variants to evade immunity and says that the UK’s vaccines remain effective against the variants circulating, including B16172. On the surface, this looks like good news. But delve a bit deeper, and things get more complicated, says Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia. PHE’s research found a little drop-off in protection against B16172 among people who were fully vaccinated.
Read more

New coronavirus variant emerge in India: How should our COVID response change?

-
Image
After genome sequencing of over 10,000 COVID-19 cases in India, researchers have discovered a new variant with two new mutations which may be better at evading the immune system. In 15-20 percent of samples from the Indian state of Maharashtra (the state accounting for 62 percent of cases in the country) a new, double mutation in key areas of the virus has been detected. These are now known as the E484Q and L452R mutations. What makes the variant different? Both these mutations are concerning because they are located in a key portion of the virus – the spike protein – that it uses to penetrate human cells. Spike proteins attach via a “receptor binding domain”, meaning the virus can attach to receptors in our cells. These new mutations include changes to the spike protein that make it a “better fit” for human cells. This means the virus can gain entry more easily and multiply faster. Given what we have seen with other similar mutations , it might also make it harder for our immu
Read more

120 flights delayed, 30 trains running late; Delhi fog & cold wave continue to give shiver to travellers

-
Arrival and departure of 120 flights, both domestic and international, to Delhi airport were affected due to dense fog and cold wave conditions on Wednesday, according to Delhi Airport FIDS (Flight Information Display System). As per the Delhi Airport FIDS, a total of 53 flights, including 21 domestic arrivals, 16 domestic departures, 13 international departures and three international arrivals scheduled are cancelled and not operating due to fog and other operational reasons from and to Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in the national capital on 17 January. #WATCH | Delhi: Several flight operations delayed at IGI airport due to low visibility amid fog. pic.twitter.com/hG1DUKllEt — ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2024 Visuals from the Delhi airport showed passengers waiting outside, checking update of their scheduled flights. There were also some people waiting for flight of their families, friends and loved ones to arrive, which got delayed due to fog. #WATCH | Delhi | Pas
Read more