Amid the rising fungal infections - black fungus, white fungus and newly detected yellow fungus, AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria on Monday said that fungal infection is not a communicable disease.
Earlier today, the first case of Yellow Fungus was reported in Ghaziabad. Experts have said that it may be more dangerous than black or white fungus as it affects the body's internal organs.
"The colour of fungus can be seen differently if it develops in different areas. Fungal infection is not a communicable disease," Dr Guleria clarified.
Guleria classified fungus infection into three types, namely, Mucormycosis, Candida, and Aspergillosis. Mucormycosis is said to be seen occurring mostly in post-Covid-19 cases and Aspergillosis is an infection that affects the lungs, he explained during a briefing by the Union health ministry on Monday.
"People with low immunity are infected with mucormycosis, Candida and asporogenous infections. These fungi are mainly found in sinuses, nose, bone around eyes and can enter brain, it is also occasionally found in lungs (pulmonary mucormycosis) or in gastrointestinal tract," he explained.
“There are few symptoms that are seen post Covid-19. If the symptoms are seen for 4-12 weeks, it is called ongoing symptomatic COVID or post-acute COVID syndrome. If symptoms are seen for more than 12 weeks, it is called post-COVID syndrome," he further explained.
Meanwhile, a rapid rise in cases of mucormycosis, also known as black fungus, has added to the challenges faced by India's healthcare system as it deals with a massive second wave of COVID-19 infections.
Declared an epidemic by several states, States across India have reported more than 8,000 cases of Black Fungus or Mucormycosis in recent weeks, mostly in people infected with COVID-19 or recovering from the disease.
Data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that mucormycosis has a mortality rate of 54%, which can vary depending on the condition of the patients and the body part affected.
However, the disease is not contagious, which means that it cannot spread from contact between humans or animals. But it does spread from fungal spores that are present in the air or in the environment, which are almost impossible to avoid.