After a calamitous second wave of COVID-19 in India since April which raised the overall death toll to almost 400,000, thousands who contracted the virus also underwent an infrequent fungal disease called mucormycosis, or “Black Fungus”.

The South Asian country which has more than 30.4 million established COVID-19 infections, second only to the United States has so far reported more than 40,845 cases of mucormycosis.

Many won’t be able to recover their site after the fungal disease which causes blackening or staining over the nose, blurred or double vision, chest pain, breathing difficulties, and coughing blood.

India ordered snugger surveillance of mucormycosis in May, as it compounded the challenge for COVID-19 patients, especially those on steroid treatment and with diabetes.

Experts have claimed that overuse of certain drugs which overwhelm the immune system could be causing the surge of the fungal infection.

“We are seeing a lot of mucormycosis cases post COVID infections since COVID itself is known to decrease the immunity,” said Charuta Mandke of the ophthalmology department at Dr. R N Cooper Municipal General Hospital in Mumbai.