A Covid-19 recovered patient died from a suspected black fungal infection at Birdem General Hospital in the capital on Saturday (May 22), posing an emerging threat to Bangladesh.
Without revealing the patient’s identity, Professor M Delwar Hossain, chairman of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Birdem, told The Financial Express that the 65-year-old patient died from suspected mucormycosis or black fungus.
The patient, who recovered from the Covid-19 recently, was suffering from diabetic, kidney and cancer-related problems, and was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia, Professor Hossain said.
To determine whether he is a real black fungus patient or not, there is a need for fungal culture, he added.
A fungal culture is a procedure used to determine if fungi are present in an area of the body, he further said.
Another 53-year-old patient from Sathkhira district, who is infected with black fungus, is being treated at the same hospital, Professor Delwar said.
The patient is now stable and suffering from fever and cold-related problems, he added.
sajibur@gmail.com