A suspected black fungus patient died at Birdem General Hospital in Dhaka on Saturday, and two more cases of such rare and dangerous infection were detected at the same hospital recently, according to the hospital authorities.
Bangladesh has not officially reported any case of such deadly infection among Covid-19 patients so far, while India has been reporting a growing number of such cases in recent times.
Talking to The Financial Express (FE), Dr Nazimul Islam, Joint Director (Hospital Admin) of Birdem, said the suspected black fungus patient died on May 22 (Saturday).
Due to official obligation, he did not provide the identities of the deceased and the two suspected black fungus patients.
Of the two, one is now being treated at the hospital, and another was transferred to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), he pointed out.
"It takes generally three to four days to confirm a black fungus case through fungal culture. So, we have to wait until that time to term them as black fungus patients," Dr Nazimul added.
To this effect, health experts called for separate management system for such patients and cautious measures.
They also focused on a new committee, close observation and monitoring, and reporting of cases involving black fungus among recovering and recovered Covid-19 patients to prevent the rare and dangerous infection.
There is nothing to be worried about the disease, they said, adding that indiscriminate use of steroids to treat Covid-19 patients is a great threat, causing the aggressive infection.
They suggested building a strong surveillance system and providing training to physicians, nurses and health staff.
Black fungus infection, scientifically called Mucormycosis, affects nose, eyes and sometimes brain. It has been an emerging threat and matter of growing concern in neighbouring India recently. Several states of India have also declared the black fungus as an epidemic to make it a notifiable disease.
The experts note that mucormycosis has an overall mortality rate of 50 per cent. They opined that one way to curb the possibility of the fungal infection is to make sure that Covid-19 patients - while undergoing treatment and after recovery - are being administered the right dose and duration of steroids.
Professor M Delwar Hossain, Chairman of Department of Respiratory Medicine at Birdem, told the FE that the 65-year-old patient died of suspected mucormycosis or black fungus.
The patient, who recovered from Covid-19 recently, was suffering from diabetes, kidney and cancer-related problems, and was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. To be confirmed whether he is a real black fungus patient or not, there is a need for fungal culture, he pointed out.
A fungal culture is a procedure, used to determine if fungi are present in an area of the body.
Another 53-year-old patient, who hailed from Satkhira district and was infected with black fungus, is being treated at the same hospital, Professor Delwar also said.
The patient is now stable and suffering from fever and cold-related problems, he added. An anti-fungal intravenous injection, which costs US$48 a dose and has to be administered every day for up to eight weeks, is the only drug effective against the disease.
Talking to the FE, Professor Muzaherul Huq, former adviser of WHO - Southeast Asia region, said black fungus causes discolouration of eyes and nose, blurred vision, chest pain, and breathing difficulties. The detected patients should be treated in separate management to curb the infection, he added.
Talking to the FE, Dr Md Nazrul Islam, a professor of virology - who served as the vice chancellor of BSMMU, said local physicians and health staff are now trained, and they can deal with the disease smoothly.
Mr Islam, who is also a member of the National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) on Covid-19, suggested that the Covid-19 patients should stop indiscriminate use of steroids and consult experienced doctors.
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