Black, White, And Yellow Fungus - Causes, Symptoms And Precautions

What Are Black, White, And Yellow Fungus?

• Black Fungus

Black Fungus is a term given to the disease called Mucormycosis. It is a fungal infection caused by the Mucorales order in which the species most commonly implicated are Rhizopus, Mucor, and Absidia.

Mycosis is a term for fungal infection and hence Mucormycosis-Mycosis caused by Mucor. The blackening of tissue is what gives it the name. It causes invasion of tissues and blood vessels and thus interrupts the blood supply to normal tissue, which gets then necroses and changes color to black.

• White Fungus

White fungus is a genus of Yeast called Candida. It grows in the lab as white/ creamy white spots on plates of agar. In humans, they again appear as white, creamy spots on the mucosa of the oral cavity most commonly.

They are commensals in the oral cavity and gastrointestinal tract and are present on the skin as well. Candida albicans is the most commonly isolated species. Albicans means white. Hence the term white fungus.

• Yellow Fungus

Yellow fungus is a term coined by someone and unfortunately does not have any significance. Yellow is the color of pus, which is formed whenever there is any bacterial infection. Superadded on that, there may be fungal growth of a wide variety of species. 

It does not mean that the fungal infection is causing the color. It also most definitely does not mean that there is a “new yellow fungus which is more dangerous than black and white fungus”.

When and Why Do They Occur?

Mycoses are all opportunistic infections, which means they attack an individual who has a weakened immune system. Our immune system is supposed to fight off any invasion by fungi and bacteria. This lack of immunity allows the fungus to spread, invade and destroy tissue.

The recent pandemic of Covid-19 infection has led to a large number of people suffering severe illness, which has left them to have the following issues-

• Prolonged ICU stay
• High blood sugars
• Prolonged oxygen use

Previously the patients were getting inflicted with these diseases. 

Their profile was-

• Chronic kidney disease
• Uncontrolled diabetes
• HIV/AIDS
• Chemotherapy and Anticancer drugs

The Covid patients with added factors of the second list give rise to a cohort of diseased that are severely immunocompromised, even more than before, which are at a risk for the development of these fungal illnesses.

What Are The Symptoms And Precautions?

Mucormycosis has some very early symptoms like altered sensation on the cheek, due to invasion of the nerve supplying that area. As the disease progresses, it involves the nasal cavity leading to nose block, nasal discharge which is blood-stained and smelly. 

Further spread to the sinuses and can lead to swelling in the eye, blurring of vision, sudden loss of vision, bulging of the eyeball. The disease may spread to the brain from the sinuses, the optic nerve, or directly by invading the bone of the base of the skull, or via the blood. 

It may also spread to the palate and present as loose teeth and swelling on the gums. It may be found in far-off places like kidneys, ureters spreading via the bloodstream.

Candida infection can lead to simple oral thrush, i.e., whitish spots on the mucosal lining of the mouth and throat, which may thereafter spread to the throat and esophagus. It may get disseminated and spread to the eye as we have seen with a recent case in Mau, UP, detected by a friend. Candida infection may be found in the heart and genitalia as well.

For mucormycosis, precautions are debatable concerning their efficacy in preventing these infections. One can use saline nasal irrigation, or use of dilute betadine drops in the nose. 

These are not proven to be effective but are recommended by certain physician associations. With regards to candidiasis, one needs to maintain oral hygiene to prevent oral thrush.

What To Do If You Get It?

If you develop the symptoms mentioned above, do not panic. Seek out medical advice at the earliest. It could be your family physician, pulmonologist, Intensivist, ophthalmologist, ENT, or dentist. But do not delay.

Even though it is a deadly disease, if you catch it early and initiate treatment rapidly, it can be beaten. Have faith.

Written by - Sanket Shedame

Edited By - Akash Verma