Muscat: The Kingdom of Oman on Tuesday registered three cases of the newly spread ‘Black Fungus’ among people infected with COVID-19 virus as the spike in COVID-19 cases continuous, the local media reported.
Oman ministry of health announced through its official account on the Twitter website, that it had recorded three confirmed cases of the black fungus, “the three cases are currently under treatment.”
The ministry called on all citizens and residents in the country to fully adhere to the measures to prevent Covid-19, especially wearing a mask, physical distancing, hand hygiene, and avoiding gatherings
Infectious diseases and infection control consultant at the ministry of health, Dr Amal bint Saif Al Maani, said that the cases recorded in the Sultanate are all patients with diabetes aged between 45 and 65 years.
The black fungus appeared in 3 Arab countries before Oman, namely Egypt, Iraq and Syria.
Black fungus, also known as Mucormycosis, is a fungal infection of the sinuses, brain or lungs that occurs in some people with weakened immune systems, according to the US National Library of Medicine.
This disease began to spread, especially among those who recovered from COVID-19, in India earlier in May and caused hundreds of deaths in it. It is a fatal disease that kills 50 per cent of those infected within a few days.
It is noteworthy that the Indian authorities had revealed, on May 20, an outbreak of a disease that threatens the lives of some people infected with the COVID-19 virus, called the black fungus.
And the Omani Ministry of Health republished information issued by the Gulf Health Council via Twitter regarding the black fungus and how it was infected or transmitted.
- It infects the sinuses or lungs after inhaling fungal spores from the air.
- It can also occur on the skin after a cut, burn, or other type of skin injury.
- Black fungus infection is not transmitted between humans or from animals to humans.
- The infection has been known medically since 1885 and can be treated with antifungal medications.
Omani health officials had warned earlier this week that the sultanate was facing an severe shortage of hospital beds amid the spread of highly contagious strains of COVID-19.
According to the publication of the ministry of information in the sultanate of Oman, the ministry of health on Tuesday announced that the total number of cases registered with the new COVID-19 virus in the country is 238,566 infections, 2,565 deaths, and 212,064 cases of recovery from the virus.