According to the Global Times, a survey study in the United States shows that cow dung may be the "culprit" that led to the mucormycete epidemic in India in 2021. In May last year, during the second wave of the outbreak in India, there was an epidemic caused by mucormycetes in the new crown infection population, and the combination of the two viruses brought no small challenge to the treatment at that time.
Mucormycosis is a dangerous infection caused by the fungus of the order Mucoryces, which has the characteristics of rapid onset, rapid progression and high mortality, and is also known as "melanomycosis" because the affected area will turn black or discolored after infection. It is worth mentioning that there are three ways for humans to be infected with "melanomycosis" in general: inhalation of mucormycete spores, swallowing mucormycete spores or mucormycete spores to contaminate wounds, which also means that the disease does not have the characteristics of "human-to-human transmission".
The mucormycete fungus is a fecal fungus that is dominated by excreta from herbivores, and it happens that India has the largest herd of cattle in the world. Considering that cow dung, which is rich in mucormycete fungi, is widely used in many indian rituals and customs, especially during the epidemic, local politicians and religious figures also advocate that cow dung can be used to prevent and treat the new crown virus, which has led to a large-scale infection in India.
In the western Indian state of Gujarat, devout Hindus firmly believe in the powerful healing power of cattle, smearing cow dung and urine all over the body, followed by prayer rituals that raise their "energy levels" by hugging and praising cows, praying and practicing yoga, and finally after the ceremony, they wash their stains with milk. It is known that cattle are the mounts of the Hindu god Shiva, so many believers in India worship cows as gods and use cow dung to "clean" houses during prayer ceremonies.
It is understood that mucormycosis is characterized by hyphae invading blood vessels, causing thrombosis and necrosis, resulting in lesions in the nose, brain, digestive tract and respiratory tract, etc. "Mucormycosis" may cause redness and pain in the eyes and nose, and accompanied by fever, headache, cough, shortness of breath and other symptoms, and in severe cases may also cause damage to the maxilla or even blindness. In past experience, 50% of patients with melanomycosis will eventually die.
However, according to the investigation report, the main reason for the large-scale outbreak of mucormycete infection cases in India is the new crown virus. The new crown virus has devastated people's bodies and destroyed the body's immune function. Secondly, the drugs needed to treat the virus contain a large number of corticosteroids and other substances, which further impair immune function and allow mucormycetes to take advantage of the void.