Doctors in India have reported that they were forced to remove the eyes of three children affected by a black fungus infection associated with COVID-19 caused by the coronavirus. India is currently facing not only the tragedy of the coronavirus but also an outbreak of black fungus, recording more than 10,000 cases of this infection.
According to Indian media on Saturday, the three children who had their eyes removed in Mumbai were aged between 4 and 14 years. One of them was a 14-year-old girl, the only one among them suffering from diabetes, and doctors noted that her eyes turned black within 48 hours.
Dr. Jaisal Sheth, a pediatric consultant at Fortis Hospital, stated: "The fungus was also spreading in the nose. Fortunately, it did not reach the brain. We treated her for 6 weeks. Unfortunately, she lost her eye."
On his part, ophthalmologist Prithish Shetty at the same hospital said: "The black fungus was spreading in their eyes, and if we hadn’t removed them, their lives would have been in danger."
Local reports indicate that about 60% of patients treated in the hospital were forced to remove at least one eye after the second wave of coronavirus led to an outbreak of the infection. He continued: "They were suffering from blindness in one eye, which was severely painful for them, including one child who came to us last December, and the second case arose during the second wave."
According to the World Health Organization, black fungus is an extremely rare disease that affects those with severe immunosuppression and can lead to death. The infection occurs due to exposure to fungi in the surrounding environment, usually by inhaling the microbes, which then infect the lungs and sinuses, spreading to the brain or eyes. Therefore, doctors have resorted to removing facial organs such as eyes, teeth, and infected tissues to prevent the spread of the infection, as this prevents decomposition from reaching the brain.
