ABSTRACT

The year 2021 felt the brunt of the second wave of the ongoing deadly pandemic caused by the ever-emerging variants of the novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which made its landfall in December 2019. Due to the lack of proper treatments to combat this disease, people heavily relied upon supportive care equipment and steroids for managing the disease progression. In this apocalyptic scenario, reports of COVID-19 patients acquiring secondary infections such as Mucormycosis, also known as the ‘Black Fungus Disease’, came afloat as a highly concerning threat. It caused a surge in the mortality rate observed in the COVID-19 patients. Mucormycosis can be described as a rare but fatal opportunistic fungal infection, which is notorious for its rapid spread, especially in immunocompromised hosts. Thus, rapid diagnosis, and implementation of proper treatment plans is deemed to be essential to prevent the high rates of mortality and morbidity associated with it. Recent studies have documented an alarming number of Mucormycosis cases among diabetic individuals who contracted COVID-19 and were administered with steroids to treat the infection. This review focuses on Mucormycosis and its impact during the pandemic era in India and worldwide, the related conditions and factors, the mechanism of pathogenesis in normal and COVID-19 affected individuals, challenges posed by it, and management of this deadly disease. A significant reduction in the severity of the disease and a drop in mortality rate may be achieved by early identification, and a further investigation down the line in COVID-19 patients. Keywords: Black fungus, COVID-19, Mucormycosis, Opportunistic fungal infection, SARS-CoV-2
Publication date: 01/11/2022

https://ijbpas.com/pdf/2022/November/MS_IJBPAS_2022_6533.pdf

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https://doi.org/10.31032/IJBPAS/2022/11.11.6533