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After Black Fungus/Mucormycosis and white fungus infection taking lives in India cases of yellow fungus infection have been reported in India. ENT Specialist B.P. Tyagi has claimed that there is a patient with Yellow Fungus in his hospital in Ghaziabad, who is undergoing treatment. The 45-year-old patient, the resident of Sanjay Nagar in Harsh Hospital, Ghaziabad, is suffering from yellow fungus as well as black and white fungus. Yellow Fungus is considered more dangerous than both Black Fungus and White Fungus.

Speaking on the same, Dr. Tyagi said the patient is infected with all three kinds of funguses – black, white, and yellow. “A 45-year-old patient’s sinus was normal in CT scan but after performing endoscopy we came to know that he contracted three types of fungi (black, white, and yellow). Yellow fungus is generally found in reptiles. I found this first time in human.

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What is Yellow Fungus disease?

Like black fungus and white fungus, yellow fungus too is a fungal infection, but it can be rather fatal and deadly as it begins internally — unlike the others where symptoms are visible. ANI quoted Dr. Tyagi as saying that this yellow fungus trait often leads to a delay in its diagnosis. This characteristic of this fungus makes it very difficult to manage and more dangerous as early diagnosis is a necessity in such cases.

Causes of Yellow Fungus

It is believed that poor hygiene standards or consumption of unhygienic food cause yellow fungus infection. Excess use of steroids or anti-fungal medicines is also a possible reason behind the sudden surge in such infections in Covid-19 patients, even if recovered.

Symptoms of Yellow Fungus

• Disrupted digestion
• Lack of energy, lethargy, and fatigue
• Necrosis (in severe cases)
• Loss of appetite, malnutrition
• Delayed healing of wounds
• Prolonging recovery timelines
• Slow metabolism, unexplained-unusual weight loss
• Pus leakage

What is Yellow Fungus Treatment?

Like mucormycosis, the treatment is done by Amphotericin-B injection, Dr. Tyagi said.

Is Yellow Fungus More Dangerous Than Black OR White Fungus?

In the case of black fungus or white fungus, the symptoms are facial swelling, blackening or discoloration over the nose, blurred or double vision, chest pain, breathing difficulties, coughing blood, and severe headache. However, the doctors have reportedly said that the yellow fungus starts infecting the patient internally. Hence, the patients are advised to seek medical treatment at the earliest once they experience symptoms such as body fatigue, low appetite, and weight loss.

Yellow Fungus Prevention

• Keep your room, house, and surroundings as clean as possible.
• Immediately remove stale food and fecal matter to prevent the growth of bacteria and fungi.
• Keep the room and house humidity under control as excessive moisture promotes bacterial growth. For example, COVID-19 patients must maintain a flow of clean air inside rooms and homes.
• Coronavirus-positive patients should start treatment immediately so that complications like this fungus do not develop.

According to an ANI report, a patient from Ghaziabad who has been diagnosed with this has been treating and recovering from COVID-19 for the past two months. However, in the last four days, the patient had swelling on his face due to which he was unable to open his eyes. After this, the patient started bleeding from the nose and urine. He was rushed to the hospital where investigations revealed that it was a case of yellow fungus.

Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Monday said that so far, 5,424 cases of mucormycosis have been reported in 18 states and Union Territories, news agency ANI reports. Several states and union territories in the country have declared black fungus as a notified disease under Epidemics Disease Act, stating that the infection is leading to prolonged morbidity and mortality among Covid-19 patients.

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