THOUSANDS of patients in India have had their eyes removed after an outbreak of ‘black fungus’ caused by mutant Covid.
Around 60 per cent of patients treated in hospital have had at least one eye removed after the second wave of coronavirus has caused an explosion of the creeping fungal disease.
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The rare condition is caused by moulds known as mucromycetes which can kill people whose immune systems are weak.
When the spores – which occur naturally in the environment – are breathed in, they attack the lungs and sinuses before spreading to the face and the brain.
Mucormycosis causes blurred or double vision, chest pain and breathing difficulties.
Anil Wankhede, 54, developed a headache and a swollen right eye after he was discharged from hospital after being treated for Covid-19.
He told The Times that he did not seek further medical help because his brother Mahendra had already paid for his treatment.
Anil said: “I didn’t want to trouble my brother yet again with a new problem. He had already done so much for me.”
Ten days after he developed the fungus symptoms, Anil was told by Dr Akshay Nair that his right eye would need to be ripped out and his sinuses stripped.
Dr Nair said: “If we don’t remove the entire contents, along with all the tissue, nerves and eyelid, the infection can invade the brain.
“At that stage, we can’t save their lives.”
India said yesterday that it was working to alleviate a shortage of a medicine used to treat the fungal disease as its healthcare system reels under a massive wave of coronavirus infections.
