While India grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic, reports of White Fungus and Black Fungus among the Covid patients have emerged in a significant number. However, another fungus has entered the domain, the Yellow fungus. A patient in UP’s Ghaziabad had been diagnosed with yellow fungus. ANI reports that the first case of yellow fungus was diagnosed by Dr. B.P Tyagi, an ENT specialist in Ghaziabad. The patient is a 45-year-old resident of Ghaziabad’s Sanjay Nagar and suffers from black and white fungus infections as well.
As per the ANI report, this Ghaziabad patient had been undergoing Covid treatment since the past two months. The patient was also recovering from it. But, in the last few days, the patient has been unable to open his eyes due to the swelling on face. The patient’s nose began to bleed and some blood was found in his urine as well. The patient was quickly rushed to the hospital, where after examination, it was revealed that it was a case of the Yellow Fungus infection.
Both black and white fungus is caused by mucormycetes — which is present in the environment — but as they impact lungs and other vital organs they can be extremely dangerous.
Here’s a brief description of these fungus infections:
Black Fungus:
Also known as mucormycosis, about 10,000 cases of black fungus have been reported. The black fungus affects the nose, face, orbits of the eyes, and the brain and the lungs as well in a few cases. The misuse of steroids is attributed as the cause behind the rising cases of black fungus in the country. The patients undergoing steroid treatment for longer durations such as the Covid-19 patients and the diabetic patients are at a higher risk of contracting the black fungus. Black fungus tends to cause chest pain, pain on one side of the face, toothache, discoloration over the nose, breathlessness and chest pain. And delay in treatment can prove to be extremely dangerous.
White Fungus:
As compared to the Black fungus, there are fewer cases of the white fungus. White fungus shares some of its symptoms with Covid-19, like cough, breathlessness and chest pain; some patients also complain of headaches and swelling. People who do not have strong immunity and live in unsanitary conditions are more likely to be affected by white fungus. Experts say that people who are suffering from diabetes, cancer or diseases involving prolonged steroid usage are at a risk. Again, delay in treatment can prove to be fatal.
Yellow Fungus:
The yellow fungus is a fungal infection like the black fungus and the white fungus. But since it begins internally, it can prove to be rather lethal, because the symptoms are visible in the other two. The ANI report quoted Dr Tyagi saying that this yellow fungus trait often leads to a delay in its diagnosis, and thus making it hard to manage and more volatile because it cannot be diagnosed early.
Symptoms of the Yellow Fungus:
Loss of appetite, lethargy and weight loss are the symptoms of the Yellow Fungus. In later stages of the Yellow Fungus infection patients exhibit severe symptoms like sunken eyes due to malnutrition and organ failure, slow healing of wounds and oozing of pus from the wounds, and necrosis (cell injury that leads to death of cells and living tissues).
Treatment of the Yellow Fungus:
Dr. Tyagi says that like mucormycosis, the treatment for yellow fungus is an Amphotericin-B injection.
Precautions for Yellow Fungus:
i) Keep your room, home and surroundings as clean as possible;
ii) Remove stale food and fecal matter immediately to check bacteria and fungal growth;
iii) Keep the humidity of the room and home under check as excessive humidity promotes bacteria growth. Just like for Covid patients maintaining clean air flow inside the room and homes is necessary.
iv) Coronavirus-positive patients must immediately start treatment so complications like yellow fungus do not develop.