Mucorales, normally saprophytic, germinate in the nasal cavities due to an infection and then colonise the sinuses, the orbit, followed by the meninges. Diagnosis must be made before meningeal impairment when faced with a peri-orbital oedema, the beginning of exophtalmy or oculomotor paralysis in high-risk patients with sinusal opacity.
It affects the sinuses, the brain and the lungs and can be life-threatening in diabetic or severely immune-compromised individuals, such as cancer patients or people with HIV/AIDS. Mucormycosis, which has an overall mortality rate of 50%, may be triggered by the use of steroids, a life-saving treatment for severe and critically ill Covid-19 patients.
In some cases, doctors in India say, patients have lost their vision in both eyes. And, in rare cases, doctors have to surgically remove the jaw bone in order to stop the disease from spreading.
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