https://mundo.sputniknews.com/20210602/el-hongo-negro-en-brasil-expertos-comentan-la-llegada-de-esta-rara-infeccion-a-latinoamerica-1112779505.html
Black fungus in Brazil: experts comment on the arrival of this rare infection in Latin America
Black fungus in Brazil: experts comment on the arrival of this rare infection in Latin America
A possible case of black fungus raises alarms in Brazil. This rare infection has mortality levels of between 50% and 80% and has already … 06.02.2021, Sputnik Mundo
2021-06-02T04:19+0000
2021-06-02T04:19+0000
2021-06-02T04:20+0000
Latin America
black fungus (mucormycosis)
Brazil
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Last Sunday, May 30, the Department of Health of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina announced that it had detected in the city of Joinville a suspected case of mucormycosis, popularly known as black fungus. In distant India, the authorities are witnessing a dizzying increase of the cases that have already affected more than 9,000 people. The infection has a mortality rate greater than 50% and most are only saved by removing one eye. Eight out of 10 patients need immediate surgery, and a New Delhi court ruled that doctors should prioritize medication for younger patients and those with the best chance of survival, to the detriment of older people, most of whom fails to overcome the infection Sputnik spoke with two Brazilian specialists to better understand why India suffers from this outbreak and what is the potential that this fungus could have to spread throughout Latin America.The danger of fungi and how to prevent themFungi belong to a kingdom different from that of plants or animals, although phylogenetically they are closer to the latter. They include molds and yeasts and are widely spread throughout the world. Although we do not perceive it, they surround us all the time and most of them are totally harmless.Mucormycosis is an infection caused by various saprophytic fungi that usually affects patients with some type of immunodeficiency, whether diabetics or patients with AIDS. During the coronavirus pandemic, it has been affecting people after having gone through a difficult recovery, because the coronavirus causes an immune response in the patient that destroys the patient’s vessels and tissue, a situation that is exploited by fungi and bacteria to infect it, adds Fernando Zanotto, professor of Microbiology at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Sao Paulo (USP). “Depending on how serious the person is [con COVID-19] this disease can be extremely challenging, as would treating any opportunistic infection in a person who is already in a very serious condition “, Zanotto shares that a good strategy to protect against opportunistic diseases such as black fungus is to” walk in sunny spaces and leave the doors and windows of the houses open to let the air flow. “These measures are effective because they reduce the possibility of inhaling the pores of the fungus and becoming infected. Both experts say that it is still too early to assess how the black fungus will evolve in Brazil , but they do not believe that the country will suffer an outbreak similar to the one that India is going through. Ferreira highlights several factors of the calamity that plagues that country is both overpopulation, population density, quality of housing and basic sanitation. “Hospitals have not been able to handle the disease for a long time. Many people infected in the streets, a lot of poverty, a lot of lack of hygiene, a lot of lack of medicines, “the professor emphasizes. For his part, Zanotto believes that now that there are suspicions of a case in Brazil, doctors will be more cautious and carry out tests specific “to find out if people have this fungus or fungi in general.”
https://mundo.sputniknews.com/20210524/quienes-superaron-el-coronavirus-en-la-india-se-enfrentan-ahora-a-tres-tipos-de-hongos-1112509022.html
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Brazil
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2021
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Sputnik Mundo
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MIA “Rosiya Segodnya”
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black fungus (mucormycosis), health, brazil
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A possible case of black fungus raises alarms in Brazil. This rare infection has mortality levels of between 50% and 80% and has already claimed the lives of thousands of people in India. But what possibilities does it have of expanding throughout Latin America?
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A court in New Delhi even ruled that doctors should prioritize medication for younger patients and those with the best chance of survival, to the detriment of older people, most of whom cannot overcome the infection.
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Sputnik spoke with two Brazilian specialists to better understand why India is suffering from this outbreak and what is the potential that this fungus could have to spread throughout Latin America.
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The danger of fungi and how to prevent them
Fungi belong to a different kingdom from plants or animals, although phylogenetically they are closer to the latter. They include molds and yeasts and are widely spread throughout the world. Although we do not perceive it, they surround us all the time and most of them are totally harmless.
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“These mushrooms they are opportunists. When our immunity levels drop for some reason or the right conditions appear in our organisms, they proliferate “, he explains. Davis Ferreira, professor at the Institute of Microbiology of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).
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And it is that the coronavirus causes an immune response in the patient that destroys the patient’s vessels and tissue, situation that is used by fungi and bacteria to infect it, adds Fernando Zanotto, professor of Microbiology at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Sao Paulo (USP).
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“Depending on how serious the person is [con COVID-19] this disease can be extremely challenging, as would treating any opportunistic infection in a person who is already in a very serious condition “,
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Zanotto shares that a good strategy to protect yourself from opportunistic diseases like black fungus is to “walk in sunny spaces and leave the doors and windows of houses open to let the air flow.” These measures are effective because they reduce the possibility of inhaling the pores of the fungus and becoming infected.
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Both experts say that it is still too early to assess how the black fungus will evolve in Brazil, but they do not believe that the country will suffer an outbreak similar to the one that India is experiencing. Ferreira highlights several factors of the calamity that plagues that country is both overpopulation, population density, quality of housing and basic sanitation.
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“Hospitals have not been able to handle the disease for a long time. Many people are infected in the streets, a lot of poverty, a lot of lack of hygiene, a lot of lack of medicines,” the professor emphasizes.
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For his part, Zanotto believes that now that there are suspicions of a case in Brazil, doctors will be more cautious and they will carry out specific tests “to find out if people have this fungus or fungi in general.”
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