Coronavirus: Madhya Pradesh reports first case of ‘white fungus’

A 55-year-old man who recovered from the coronavirus disease in Jabalpur has been diagnosed with the Aspergillus Flavus infection, or “white fungus”, making him the first patient with the infection in Madhya Pradesh, PTI reported on Saturday, citing a health official.

Dr Kavita Sachdeva, the ENT department head at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College, said that the “white fungus” infection was detected in his nose on Friday. He was operated on on May 17 after his headache and eye pain did not subside, she said.

Sachdeva said that the infection is curable and does not need an injection like mucormycosis, or “black fungus”, and is also not as deadly. She said that both infections affect people with uncontrolled sugar levels, adding that white fungus “is not rare and many people have been cured of it earlier”.

Besides Madhya Pradesh, at least four cases of “white fungus” have been reported in Bihar capital Patna, according to News18.

Dr Arunesh Kumar, senior consultant and head respiratory of medicine at Paras Hospital, told The Indian Express that white fungus can be caused due to low immunity or when people come in contact with things that contain moulds such as water.

Kumar said that often, some patients infected with “white fungus” have symptoms similar to the coronavirus…

Read more