Mucormycosis (Black Fungus) is surging in India (9000 cases).

The dramatic increase is thought to be associated with over-prescribed medication for Covid patients - specifically steroids - or other drugs that compromise the immune system.

Most cases seem to be amongst diabetics or other immunosupressed patients

It's way more deadly than Covid.

Not aware of it being a concern outside India, which is curious.

ABC: (T)hose who were hospitalised with severe COVID-19 disease were likely to be prescribed a steroid called dexamethasone to reduce infection.

This drug works to reduce inflammation in the lungs and to dampen the body's immune response (to stop it attacking the body's healthy cells).

Dr Djordjevic: You're suppressing the immune response, so we don't die from that -
but at the same time you're creating another problem in that all these other opportunistic pathogens, there's no immune surveillance to keep them under control.

Professor Griffin: We do still need to use [dexamethasone], it's been proven to work (but) we've tipped the balance in the favour of [mucormycosis] by adding a lot more susceptible hosts into the equation.

There's another drug to treat Black Fungus of course - but it can cause acute renal failure.