Egypt denies black fungus outbreak

Cairo: Egypt has denied claims of an outbreak of a rare but potentially deadly fungal infection, commonly known as black fungus, after the brother of a popular comedian blamed it for his death.

Veteran Egyptian comedian Samir Ghanem died Thursday in Cairo due to complications from COVID-19 and kidney problems.

“There is no truthness in circulating reports about the spread of black fungus in Egypt among the coronavirus patients,” said Dr Mohammed Abdul Fattah, the head of the Health Ministry’s preventive medicine department.

“If any contagious disease, or a new strain of coronavirus is detected, cases and treatment plans will be made public,” he added.

Black fungus or mucormycosis has been found to affect some COVID-19 patients or those who have recovered with an impaired immune system, according to specialists. The fungal infection often appears in the skin and can affect the lungs and the brain, they added.

Symptoms can include facial swelling, fever, skin ulcers, redness around the eyes, coughing, shortness of breath and bloody vomits.