11-year-old boy from Chitradurga is the youngest survivor of black fungus in Karnataka

Bengaluru: An 11-year-old boy from Chitradurga is the youngest survivor of black fungus or mucormycosis in Karnataka. This boy from Chitradurga was unaware that he had been infected with Covid-19 and had Type 1 diabetes. The boy lost vision in his left eye due to the fungal infection, but the right eye has been saved.

The boy is now at Bowring and Lady Curzon Medical College Hospital and wasted tested negative for Covid-19. He was made to undergo a Covid-19 antibody test and the high levels of antibodies confirmed the past infection. This is an undiagnosed case of juvenile diabetes. The doctors treating the boy said, “The boy must have been exposed to Covid-19. He had not undergone a Covid test since he probably had mild symptoms or was asymptomatic.”

The boy reached to the doctors with blurred vision. The doctors also said that he was not on steroids. Dr CN Reddy, professor of pediatrics at the medical college hospital said, “In his case, the undiagnosed juvenile diabetes was the major risk factor that cost him his vision. We suspect the Covid variant, which infected him, may have contributed to the fungal infection.”

On May 28, the boy was taken to Nimhans for surgery to remove the fungal debris and puss in the brain and for neurological evaluation. He was sent back to Bowring hospital on May 30. Dr. Dwarakanath Srinivas, professor, and head, neurosurgery, Nimhans, said that this was a rare case as kids are not seen with fungal infections. He added that there was no evidence to prove that the infection was caused by the Covid variant. He said, “The boy had an infection in the frontal lobe of the brain. He needs to be treated with Liposomal Amphotericin B antifungal drug. Diabetes was the risk factor.”

Another such case was that of a 13-year-old girl from Ballari who suffered from mucormycosis. She too had Type 1 diabetes. The girl was referred from Bowring to Nimhans and underwent an operation on Sunday. Earlier, she was treated for Covid on oxygen support in Ballari. The girl had lost vision in her left eye. Dr. Srinivas said, “She had a frozen eyeball, and muscles in the eye were infected. She has now been sent back to Bowring for the continuation of antifungal therapy.”

Both children need further observation. Doctors stated that it was early to say if they could get their vision back through a corneal transplant. Dr. Srinivas said, “If the optic nerve, which is involved in these cases, has been damaged, the corneal transplant will not be helpful. Once the infection subsides, we need to evaluate why the children lost vision.” He said that after recovering From Covid, any discharge from the nasal area of kids should not be ignored, especially if they have uncorralled diabetes. He added that parents must keep an eye on the Covid-recovered children.