Delhi Reports First Ever White Fungus Case Causing Damage To Intestine

New-Delhi: As India is still battling against Black Fungus, also known as Mucormycosis doctors on Thursday revealed that first-of-its-kind case of white fungus which causes multiple perforations throughout the intensine in a Covid patient has been reported in the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) in New-Delhi.

On May 13, a 49-year-old woman was admitted to the SGRH with complaints of severe abdominal pain, constipation and vomiting. She had undergone a mastectomy for breast cancer in December 2020 and had received chemotherapy till four weeks ago.

“A CT scan of the abdomen revealed free air and a moderate amount of free fluid in the abdominal cavity suggestive of an intestinal perforation,” said the hospital in a statement.

As soon as it came to light, the doctors put a tube inside the woman’s abdomen and drained around one litre of bile-stained pus.

A team led by Dr Samiran Nundy of the Department of Surgical Gastroenterology and Liver Transplantation carried out emergency surgery on the patient the next day.

Perforation in the lower end of the food pipe was found. Dr Nundy said that a part of the small intestine had developed gangrene and sloughed off, and the patient had several thinned out patches in the wall of the colon with one small leak.

“The perforations were closed and the gangrenous segment was resected in a difficult surgery lasting four hours after which a piece of intestine was sent for biopsy,” he said.

The biopsy revealed severe ulceration of the intestinal wall with resultant perforation and necrosis caused by invasive white fungus, said Dr Arora.

He added that the patient’s COVID-19 antibody levels were very high. Also, her blood and peritoneal fluid culture revealed exuberant growth of the fungus. Hence, she was administered with antifungals.

Five days later, the patient had to undergo a second surgery for a small leak from the anastomotic site. However, she is presently recovering from it, said Dr Aurobindo of the Department of Liver Transplantation and GI Surgery.

What is White Fungus?

White fungus (Candida) causing multifocal perforations in the food pipe, small bowel and large bowel in COVID-19 infection. White fungus infections are “dangerous and can affect many parts of the body including lungs, nails, skin, the stomach, kidneys, brain and mouth.

(Inputs from Agency)