Rare fungal infection detected in coronavirus patients

The novel coronavirus has not gone away. In fact, it is getting even worse as far as its aftermath is concerned.

Doctors in Ahmedabad have now reporteda fungal infection that is preying on COVID-19 patients and also on those who haverecently recovered.

According to a report in The Times of India, an Ahmedabad-based retina and ocular trauma surgeon -- by the name of Dr Parth Rana -- has said that five cases of mucormycosis have been detected.

Mucormycosis is a rare fungal infection with a mortality rate of 50%. All the above-mentioned patients had enlarged eyeballs which were bulging out of the eye sockets.

As per the report, two patients have already died while two surviving patients have lost their eyesight.

Infectious diseases specialist Dr Atul Patel, who had earlier warned of the growing incidence of the serious infection in COVID-19 patients, said, "We have recorded 19 cases of mucormycosis infection in recovered patients in the past three months."

The specialist doctor has cited poor sugar control, use of high doses of steroids and overall compromised immunity as the reason of the disease.