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Thursday, 28th March 2024

Black Fungus: Why India, Pakistan, Bangladesh Are At Higher Risk of Infection?

By Disha Sharma -
  • Updated
  • :
  • 7th June 2021,
  • 10:10 PM

An increasing number of Black Fungus cases have been reported in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Here's the explanation.

Black Fungus

Black Fungus

Amid the battle with the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, increasing cases of mucormycosis or black fungus’ has been reported in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. About 12,000 cases of black fungus have been reported mostly in patients recovering from COVID 19.

According to medical experts, the reason behind the surging numbers of black fungus is the high prevalence of diabetes. Before COVID 19 pandemic, at least 38 countries around the world reported black fungus cases. As per the leading International Fungal Education, India and Pakistan had the highest rates around 140 million cases per million annually.

The cases of black fungus that have been reported in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, have a connection with diabetes. High prevalence of diabetes in their populations has been detected in the Black fungus-infected patients.

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In Bangladesh, doctors are treating two diabetic patients’ cases. One has been detected with Black fungus while results are awaited for others.

In Pakistan, four died out of five as of 12th May, due to mucormycosis.

However, in the United States, the cases of mucormycosis are very rare where 9.3 percent of the population is diabetic, only 3 percent of diabetes is undiagnosed, according to the US Centres for Disease Control.

Why patients with diabetes are at more risk level?

It’s the undiagnosed diabetes cases which is cause for worry, experts added.

The International Diabetes Federation estimates that 57 percent of that diabetes in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka are undiagnosed cases.

Dr. Hariprasath Prakash at the International School of Medicine in Kyrgyzstan asserted that there are many uncontrolled diabetes cases in India because people don’t do regular health check-ups.

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Untreated and poorly controlled diabetes puts the patient at higher risk of fungal infections. In Africa also, there more than 60 percent of cases of undiagnosed diabetes cases. But mucormycosis cases are very low-only 3 percent.

The reason behind the low numbers of mucormycosis cases is that many go undiagnosed. Studies have suggested that the cases of black fungus go undiagnosed because of the complication in tissue collection and lack of sensitivity of the diagnostic tests.

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