Nepal reports first death from black fungus, 10 others infected

Nepal has reported its first death from black fungus, while 10 others have been detected to be suffering from the deadly infection in various districts across the country, according to a media report on Thursday.

A 65-year-old man died of black fungus, which is also known as mucormycosis, in Seti Zonal hospital in Kailali district, The Himalayan Times reported.

He was admitted to the hospital on May 31 and was diagnosed with black fungus on Wednesday. He died on Thursday.

However, his COVID-19 report was negative, Dilip Kumar Shrestha, Information Officer of the hospital, said.

The Ministry of Health and Population on Thursday confirmed 10 cases of black fungus from Nepalgunj, Birgunj and Kathmandu districts, the report said.

Out of the cases infected with black fungus, eight have contacted the authorities, while the rest are yet to approach, Dr Krishna Prasad Poudel, spokesperson in the ministry, was quoted as saying in the report.

Mucormycosis is a very rare but serious infection, the most likely cause of which is mucor mould (mucormycetes) that lives throughout the environment. The infection mainly affects people with low immunity due to some pre-existing health condition such as diabetes or cancer.

Meanwhile, the country extended the lockdown in the Kathmandu Valley till June 14 due to the spike in COVID-19 cases.

Nepal recorded 5,316 new cases and 101 deaths related to COVID-19 on Wednesday.

Nepal's number of COVID-19 infections has reached 571,111, while the number of deaths stand at 7,386.