Black fungus: Dutch kit can help detect Mucormycosis within 24-48 hours

Early diagnosis leads to proper treatment and care. When it comes to black fungus, late detection can prove fatal. Patients can end up losing their eyes and even jaw due to delay in diagnosis. Dr K Bhujang Shetty, Chairman, Narayan Nethralaya, Bangalore and the team have come up with a quick solution for black fungus. It is called the 'Dutch Kit'.

Dr Shetty explains that the Dutch Kit is equivalent to an RT-PCR test for COVID-19. Talking about black fungus, there is a quick tool that can help in the early diagnosis and thus treatment of the infection. At present, the black fungus test report may take up to 10-15 days for confirmation as the fungi will have to be cultured in the lab before knowing the exact group.

The kit, as the name suggests, has been imported from The Netherlands. The test kits detect the fungal infection in 24 to 48 hours. For the test, patient's blood sample and the lesion sample are taken. There are 5 main varieties of black fungus and all of them can be detected and differentiated easily through this kit. Interestingly, the researchers have said that the accuracy of the test is 100 per cent.

The kit costs around Rs 7000 and helps greatly in the early diagnosis of black fungus.

While the second wave of COVID-19 seems to be slowing down but what makes it scary is its high mortality rate.

Currently, the country has more than 28,000 cases of black fungus infection. The highest number of cases have been recorded in Maharashtra, followed by Gujarat and then Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Karnataka, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh.

The black fungus can cause blackening or discolouration of the bose, blurred or double vision, chest pain, breathing difficulties and blood coming while coughing. Coronavirus patients suffering from diabetes and weakened immune systems are especially prone to getting the infection.

Pain and redness around the eyes, nose, headache, fever, coughing and shortness of breath, bloody vomit and confusion are some of the common symptoms of black fungus.

As per health experts, India's poor air quality and excessive dust in cities like Mumbai are making it easier for the fungi to thrive and leading to a spike in the number of cases.