Mucormycosis, a rare but life-threatening fungal disease, is challenging to diagnose and treat.
Presently, COVID-19 associated mucormycosis reported high morbidity and mortality,
extravagant treatment costs, and a shortage of antifungal drugs. From the global perspective,
the surge in mucormycosis cases signifies a higher number of immunosuppressed patients,
improved diagnostics, and improper use of antifungal prophylaxis against Mucorales.
Further, the growth and infectivity of fungal spores are intensified by acidic blood pH, low
oxygen level, and high glucose and iron level in serum resulting in angioinvasion, thrombosis
and, tissue necrosis. So, early and precise diagnosis, settling primarily associated risk factors,
surgery in localized infection, judicious use of antifungal agents, controlling nosocomial
infection, maintaining personal hygiene, and strictly monitoring blood sugar are crucial
preventive measures for Mucorales. If not, other opportunistic fungi such as Aspergillus,
Candida, or any Zygomycetes may result in an epidemic as COVID-19 mucormycosis. We searched various scholarly literature using keywords: black fungus, mucormycosis,
COVID-19 mucormycosis in PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar databases, summarized
the clinical features of mucormycosis, and highlighted the reason for an abrupt lethal
outbreak in COVID-19 patients.
Keywords: Black Fungus, COVID-19, Mucorales, Mucormycosis, Opportunistic
infection
Publication date: 15/01/2022
https://ijbpas.com/pdf/2022/January/MS_IJBPAS_2022_JAN_SPCL_10201.pdf
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https://doi.org/10.31032/IJBPAS/2022/11.1.1020
