Mucormycosis is a serious and fatal disease characterized by rhino-orbital and cerebral involvement caused by a rare but opportunistic fungal pathogen. Mucormycosis, also known as black fungus, caused fear and panic with a sudden and devastating rise in India during the second wave of the COVID-19 epidemic (April to June 2021). Although the reason for the sharp rise of mucormycosis in the COVID-19 epidemic is still controversial, its frequent occurrence in diabetic COVID-19 patients has associated mucormycosis with diabetes. However, the fact that mucormycosis is also seen in isolated vitamin A deficiency, non-diabetic COVID-19 patients, measles, and AIDS patients suggests that vitamin A deficiency may be under the pathogenetic mechanism. Vitamin A deficiency has previously been shown to develop in measles, AIDS, and COVID-19. Mucormycosis is an opportunistic infection mainly seen in people whose immune system is suppressed due to malignancy, chemotherapy, and AIDS. It is known that vitamin A deficiency also causes a kind of nutritional immunodeficiency picture. Therefore, the tendency to fungal, viral, and bacterial infections increases in vitamin A deficiency, and eye involvement is also common. Vitamin A deficiency also causes decreased tear secretion and deterioration of the anatomical/physiological defense barrier of the eye. In vitamin, A deficiency, besides microbial keratitis in the eye, night blindness, xerophthalmia, conjunctivitis (pink eye), Bitot spots, keratomalacia, and retinopathy also develop. Night blindness is considered the first sign of vitamin A deficiency, while Xerophthalmia is pathognomonic for vitamin A deficiency. We think that vitamin A deficiency is responsible for mucormycosis seen in COVID-19 patients and that vitamin A replacement with antifungals may have preventive and therapeutic value against COVID-19-related mucormycosis and other ocular symptoms.
Mucormycosis is a serious and fatal disease characterized by rhino-orbital and cerebral involvement caused by a rare but opportunistic fungal pathogen. Mucormycosis, also known as black fungus, caused fear and panic with a sudden and devastating rise in India during the second wave of the COVID-19 epidemic (April to June 2021). Although the reason for the sharp rise of mucormycosis in the COVID-19 epidemic is still controversial, its frequent occurrence in diabetic COVID-19 patients has associated mucormycosis with diabetes. However, the fact that mucormycosis is also seen in isolated vitamin A deficiency, non-diabetic COVID-19 patients, measles, and AIDS patients suggests that vitamin A deficiency may be under the pathogenetic mechanism. Vitamin A deficiency has previously been shown to develop in measles, AIDS, and COVID-19. Mucormycosis is an opportunistic infection mainly seen in people whose immune system is suppressed due to malignancy, chemotherapy, and AIDS. It is known that vitamin A deficiency also causes a kind of nutritional immunodeficiency picture. Therefore, the tendency to fungal, viral, and bacterial infections increases in vitamin A deficiency, and eye involvement is also common. Vitamin A deficiency also causes decreased tear secretion and deterioration of the anatomical/physiological defense barrier of the eye. In vitamin, A deficiency, besides microbial keratitis in the eye, night blindness, xerophthalmia, conjunctivitis (pink eye), Bitot spots, keratomalacia, and retinopathy also develop. Night blindness is considered the first sign of vitamin A deficiency, while Xerophthalmia is pathognomonic for vitamin A deficiency. We think that vitamin A deficiency is responsible for mucormycosis seen in COVID-19 patients and that vitamin A replacement with antifungals may have preventive and therapeutic value against COVID-19-related mucormycosis and other ocular symptoms.
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