Outbreak Of Black Fungus Respiratory Infection In COVID-19 Patients, Minister Of Health Budi: It's In India

JAKARTA - Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the disease 'mucormycosis' or black fungus that poses a risk of infecting the respiratory tract of COVID-19 patients has not yet been detected in Indonesia.

"That is in India. But we (Indonesia) haven't yet," said Budi when asked about the black fungus disease in Indonesia in South Tangerang, as reported by Antara, Wednesday, June 2.

Meanwhile, General Chairperson of the Indonesian Lung Doctors Association, Agus Dwi Susanto, in a written statement to reporters, stated that the current COVID-19 pandemic is still a health problem in almost all of the world, including Indonesia.

"The latest news is that in several countries, such as India and Malaysia, there has been a very significant spike in cases," he said.

In India, Agus said, many cases of black fungus are found as a deadly infection that appears in patients infected with the coronavirus.

"Patients infected with black fungus cause discoloration of the eyes and nose, blurred vision, chest pain, and difficulty breathing," he said.

For this reason, the Indonesian Lung Doctors Association appeals to the public to be aware of the potential for black fungus, especially among people with COVID-19.

Lung Specialist at Friendship Hospital, Erlina Burhan, said that black fungus has the risk of triggering allergies to infecting the respiratory tract, the human brain and even causing death.

Erlina said prolonged steroid consumption during the healing process of COVID-19 patients has the potential to trigger black fungus in the sufferer's body.

"Long-term use of steroids can lower the immune system. If it attacks the breath, of course, it can be quite short, even quite severe if it is accompanied by COVID-19 suffered by the patient," he said