Death could be Black and White

Saturday 22nd May, 2021

It never rains, but it pours. While the Covid-19 pandemic is spreading fast and carrying off several thousands of people daily, the cyclone season has turned extremely active in India, which has had its fair share of crises. Natural disasters will worsen the prevailing health crisis. Sri Lanka is also likely to find itself in a similar predicament in case of floods and other such natural disasters due to torrential rains. As if the pandemic and cyclones were not enough, India now has two other problems to contend with—the black fungus and the white fungus.

Mucormycosis cases are said to be on the rise among those who recover from Covid-19; this disease caused by the black fungus is said to have a 50% mortality rate, and some victims have to undergo lifesaving surgeries to have their eyes and jawbones removed. The situation is so bad that, on Thursday, Indian Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agaarwal urged about 30 states to declare the disease an epidemic. It behoves other countries to closely watch the situation in India and draw lessons.

What actually causes mucormycosis in Covid-19 patients has not been determined, but doctors believe it could be linked to the use of steroids to treat severe cases, especially diabetics, according to media reports. The suspected link between the exponential growth of the black fungus and the Covid-19 drug regimen is bound to make the fight against the pandemic even more difficult.

Indian doctors have found that the white fungus infection is deadlier than the one caused by the black fungus; it spreads much faster and affects lungs, kidneys, intestines, stomach and the reproductive system, the Indian media has reported, quoting medical experts. Patients put on steroids and high oxygen support are found to be affected by the white fungus. This has been a double whammy for the Covid-19 patients needing critical care. Confirmed white fungus cases are reportedly increasing across India, signalling the onset of another epidemic.

Unfortunately, people do not seem sufficiently aware of the danger of the black fungus and the white fungus either in India or other parts of the world, especially here. The fact that most of the Covid-19 patients recover, many of them even without realising they ever contracted it, has made Sri Lankans (as well as their counterparts elsewhere) take the pandemic for granted, as evident from their reluctance to follow the health guidelines, which many of them consider a nuisance. The police and the Public Health Inspectors are, therefore, having a hard time, trying to make people wear masks and practise physical distancing.

In enforcing compliance with the pandemic preventive measures, fear is the key. It is not the fear of punishment as such but the fear of the worst-case scenario—a painful death. The public must be made to realise that all is not well after recovery from Covid-19, and they run the risk of losing their dear lives or precious eyes and jawbones afterwards. Even if the elusive coronavirus spares them, either the black fungus or the white fungus is likely to get them. This harsh reality must be drilled into the heads of those who take Covid-19 lightly if they are to realise the need to co-operate with the health authorities and adopt preventive measures.

Meanwhile, it is hoped that the Sri Lankan health authorities, and their political bosses who think no end of themselves will take serious notice of the deadly fungal infections that come in the wake of Covid-19 recoveries in India, and adopt precautions to avert disaster. Let them be urged not to let the grass grow under their feet, and pin the blame on the public, the way they did as regards the current wave of infections they brought about by playing politics with pandemic preventive measures during recent festive season.