Covid-19: 2 dead of black fungus in Gurugram, say hospitals

According to the hospitals that treated them, the patients suffered a cardiac arrest. “The deaths are suspected to be due to mucormycosis. A 12-member state-level committee has been constituted to audit both cases and give their final report,” said Dr Virender Yadav, Gurugram chief medical officer.

Gurugram reported a total of 91 cases of mucormycosis, more commonly called “black fungus”, till Wednesday among Covid-19 patients who were either infected with or had recovered from the virus.

The first death was reported from Max Super Specialty Hospital on May 16, and the second death happened a day later at Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI). (HT Archives. Representative image)

Two such patients also died, but senior health department officials said they could only attribute it to mucormycosis after an audit.

According to the hospitals that treated them, the patients suffered a cardiac arrest.

“The deaths are suspected to be due to mucormycosis. A 12-member state-level committee has been constituted to audit both cases and give their final report,” said Dr Virender Yadav, Gurugram chief medical officer.

The first death was reported from Max Super Specialty Hospital on May 16, and the second death happened a day later at Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI).

The patient at Max Hospital, a 29-year-old, arrived at the emergency unit in a critical condition on May 15 morning. “He was bleeding from the nose, complained of nausea (and) headache. He was disoriented and had a severely damaged right eye with loss of vision. He had been ill with Covid-19 since April 23 and was undergoing treatment from outside (not from the hospital).