The COVID-19 patients who have been diagnosed with ‘Black fungus’ have been detected from several areas of the country, Deputy Director-General of Health Services Dr. Hemantha Herath said.
He said the cases had been reported from several hospitals including Colombo National Hospital, Kurunegala and Rathnapura.
“The symptoms of this disease develop depending on the place where fungi appear on the body. The fungi can be found on the skin, around eyes, nose, brain and lungs,” he explained.
“These fungi are in the environment. People with the extremely low immune system are prone to this fungus,” Dr. Herath added.
He also said that this disease does not spread from person to person and there was no possibility of turning into an epidemic.
Earlier, ordinary patients with black fungus have been found in Sri Lanka since 2019. However, this is the first time where COVID-19 patients are getting infected with black fungus.
