A new danger is seemingly approaching COVID-19 recovered patients. A rare but fatal infection is now affecting those who have won the battle against the novel coronavirus. It is called mucormycosis which is a fungal infection.
COVID-19 has become an unsolved puzzle which is getting more and more complex with each passing day. We get to hear some sort of new complications nd symptoms of this disease almost every other week. And, that’s why we can say that SARS-CoV-2 is more dangerous and deadly than we still think. COVID-19 causing virus is known to make your immunity weak and make you prone to the onset of other severe diseases along with aggravating their severity.
The deadly virus not only affects your immunity but your blood vessels too. Lately, scientists have found that various COVID-19 recovered patients have experienced a new infection with mortality rate more than 50 per cent. Here we will tell you all about that infection.
What is Mucormycosis?
Mucormycosis is a fungal infection that is caused by a group of molds called mucormycetes that are present throughout the environment especially in soil. Firstly, it infects your nasal area and then rapidly spreads through your throat to your eyes and brain. It becomes life-threatening after reaching your brain and soon starts to damage other body organs. This can lead to multiple organ failure if not treated at the right time.
Symptoms of Mucormycosis
According to the CDC, the symptoms of this infection depends on the area which has been affected by the pathogen. In case of the sinus and brain infection, patients experience one-sided facial swelling, nasal congestion, headache, fever, and black lesions. If your lungs are affected by the fungus, you will experience fever, cough, chest pain, and shortness of breath. Intestine infection will cause abdominal pain, gastrointestinal bleeding, nausea, and vomiting.
Risk Factors And Preventive Measures
Mucormycosis usually affects those with a compromised immune system. This means, if you are suffering from a condition or has recently recovered from a condition that has reduced your body’s ability to fight germs and sickness, you are at high risk of contracting the infection. According to CDC, apart from COVID-19 recovered patients, those suffering from diabetes, cancer, some skin injury or/and iron deficiency are more prone than others to get mucormycosis.
Mucormycosis is not contagious. Therefore, you don’t have to fear getting it from a sick person. Mucormycosis can affect you only after breathing fungal spores or if the fungus enters your body through a wound. To prevent the infection, you can avoid going to construction and excavation sites. If this is not possible, wear N95 face mask. Also, avoid contact with soil and dust. Also, you can talk to your healthcare provider to prescribe some antifungal medicine.