Mucor Mycosis - The Black Fungus
Man and microbes have lived a symbiotic relationship from time immemorial but there are times when this relationship goes into disarray. Diseases, about which microbiologists only read about in text books suddenly spike up causing serious infections and death. One such disease that has hit the headlines is mucormycosis - black fungus. Fungus is all around us. The specific type Mucor is literally omnipresent and we see it on rotting bread, animal dung, wood, spoilt fruits, vegetables, decaying leaves and in soil. Most of the times, fungi live in harmony with nature helping in decomposing dead and decaying plant material.
So, why are we now so fearful about the fungal infection mucormycosis? Why is it so deadly?
Our body protects itself from microbial infection by a robust immune system. However, zillions of harmless microbes live in and on our body, termed as a normal flora. They are present in abundance, protect the body by preventing the invading organisms from growing and establishing themselves in our body. But, when our immune system is compromised because of HIV infections, medications, uncontrolled diabetes and possibly even covid, one becomes susceptible to these otherwise, “harmless” microbes. Mucormycosis, commonly called as black fungus, is one such disease.
Mucor produces tiny spores about 4 to 6 microns in size [nearly one-thousandth of a mm]. They themselves are immotile. They spread from any soiled material which harbours these by our soiled footwear or clothes. They can remain in the air for prolonged periods of time. However, most times, we do not even realize their existence. But, when our immune system is compromised or if our normal microbial flora has been altered/ reduced or destroyed by extensive anti-microbial therapy or infections then they create a havoc in our body. Many doctors treating covid patients found them returning with a deadly infection which affects the face, brain, lungs intestines, causing black lesions and blood clots in the brain. It is a very deadly disease which spreads very fast. If not treated early, 50 to 80% of patients could die of mucormycosis. A report in Diabetes Metabolism Syndrome states that 80% of patients with mucormycosis were diabetic and 76% were treated with corticosteroids making them a very vulnerable group. There are many hypothesis on what else contributed to this otherwise rare infection. Some believe that it was due to the use of industrial oxygen or ventilation systems, non-sterile water, whilst others believe that steam inhalation may play a role by impacting the mucosa, in addition to zinc supplementation being a fungal growth promoter. But the reasons are still unclear.
Patients recovering from any acute infection or have undergone transplantation, cancer treatment need to be very careful that they do not get exposed to these fungal spores. Aseptic techniques should be used while handling hospitalised patients. Visitors should sanitize hands, change footwear, wear masks. The air ducts in closed or air-conditioned rooms need to be cleaned regularly.
And, it may be worthwhile to use stand-alone air disinfection units which would destroy these spores before they enter the patients airways. Spores can survive for months, spreads through air and once they settle on a surface, germinate and form thread like hyphae (branching filament structure) . In humans, they invade the blood vessels causing tissue death. There are numerous air cleaners in the market but one is not clear on “how much they clean the air”. An Irish company has come up with a novel technology where plasma, the fourth state of matter, is generated inside a machine which is capable of totally destroying fungal spores in milli-seconds once the infected air enters the device. They have reported that 99.99% of the spores in 16 m3 room were destroyed within 30 min using Defend 1050 while a smaller device destroyed 99.1% of spores in 4 hours.
Mucor spores in normal situations don’t bother humans but if one is suffering or recovering from a serious illness then the risk of this deadly infection is very high. Such individuals should always wear masks, visitors should never come in with soiled footwear and wash hands and above all ensure that the room air is disinfected continuously.
