The devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have been further enhanced by various secondary illnesses, particularly opportunistic fungal infections such as mucormycosis. Mucormycosis or ‘black fungus’ primarily affects people with weakened immunity, those with medical conditions such as diabetes or cancer and those who use medications that reduce the body\'s capacity to resist infections and disease. The infection starts in the sinuses or the lungs after breathing in spores of the black fungus from the air. In just 2 months between 5 May and 12 July 2021, this uncommon but fatal fungal illness was responsible for 41,512 cases and 3554 fatalities in India alone. The government of India declared a mucormycosis epidemic in May 2021. The majority of such cases occurred during active SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks in India in 2021. Black fungus took over while the host defenses were compromised and the globe was preoccupied tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. Steroids prescribed in amounts and time spans that far exceeded WHO recommendations to manage severe COVID-19 cases, potentially weakened patients\' immune systems, and raised blood sugar levels making them vulnerable to fungal invasion. Early diagnosis and treatment are the keys to a patient\'s survival. Simple means such as maintaining hygienic conditions, avoiding contact with an infected person, judiciously using steroid medications and antibiotics and properly managing high blood sugar can help protect an individual from black-fungus infection.
各种继发性疾病进一步加剧了COVID-19大流行的破坏性影响,特别是机会性真菌感染,如毛霉菌病。毛霉菌病或“黑木耳”主要影响免疫力低下的人,那些患有糖尿病或癌症等疾病的人,以及那些使用降低身体抵抗感染和疾病能力的药物的人。从空气中吸入黑木耳的孢子后,感染开始于鼻窦或肺部。在2021年5月5日至7月12日的短短两个月内,这种罕见但致命的真菌疾病仅在印度就造成41,512例病例和3554例死亡。印度政府于2021年5月宣布毛霉菌病流行。大多数此类病例发生在2021年印度SARS-CoV-2活跃爆发期间。黑木耳接管了宿主防御系统,而全球正忙于应对COVID-19大流行。类固醇的处方数量和时间跨度远远超过了世卫组织管理严重COVID-19病例的建议,可能削弱患者的免疫系统,血糖水平升高,使它们容易受到真菌入侵。早期诊断和治疗是患者生存的关键。简单的手段,如保持卫生条件,避免接触感染者,明智地使用类固醇药物和抗生素以及适当地管理高血糖可以帮助保护个体免受黑木耳感染。