The first Mexican reportedly suffering from mucormycosis or "black fungus" while recovering from COVID-19 died due to the rare fungal infection.

It was the first suspected case of mucormycosis that was found in a COVID patient in Mexico. Based on the report of the Mexican edition of Spanish newspaper El País on Tuesday, June 10, the man's relatives identified him as Gregorio Avendaño Jimenez, 34.

Mucormycosis is a Rare Fungal Infection 

In recent weeks, mucormycosis has risen to prominence, especially in India, where the illness has been reported widely acquired by COVID patients. 

Mucormycosis is a rare fungal disease caused by a group of molds called mucormycetes. Individuals can acquire the disease if they inhale fungal spores from the air.

Aside from being airborne, it can also directly affect the skin if an individual had some skin injury. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that mucormycosis is more common in individuals with compromised immune systems.

Citing an El País report, Newsweek said that despite the surgery done to Avendaño Jimenez, which removed the affected eye and the tissue from his nose and mouth, the man still died at the La Raza National Medical Center in Mexico City.

Avendaño Jimenez's illness reportedly started as headaches and a small spot on his left eye, the Market Research Telecast reported. The first case of the disease was initially reported in Mexico last week.

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Mexican Experts on Mucormycosis 

In a press briefing on June 3, Hugo Lopez-Gatell, Mexican undersecretary of prevention and health promotion, said the black fungus or mucormycosis is an aggressive and opportunistic infection. 

Lopez-Gatell noted that it is dangerous in individuals with severe immunosuppression because it hinders the ability of the body to fight infections. Fortunately, he said it is a rare disease.

The Mexican undersecretary added that COVID-19 does not increase the risk of acquiring mucormycosis. However, the excessive use of steroids for treating the virus may cause patients with the virus to have a rare fungal infection.

Numerous reports show that the prescription of steroids is the potential driving factor behind recent mucormycosis cases. However, despite the help given by steroids in fighting against coronavirus, it also suppresses the body's immune system, making it vulnerable to diseases.

Meanwhile, doctors in 10 hospitals of the Indian state of Maharashtra were concerned in the last couple of weeks regarding the country's new "Delta" COVID variant, which is also known as B.1.617. 

They suspected that it might have been the reason behind the cases of "black fungus," the Telegraph reported.

The leading ENT surgeon at the Seven Star Hospital in Nagpur, Dr. Shailesh Kothalkar, said they need more investigation, but they were concerned regarding the possibility of a new pandemic.

After recovering from COVID-19, Kothalkar further noted that around 40 percent more patients are developing diabetes. 

The CDC described mucormycosis as "serious but rare." The CDC noted that in one review of published cases, they found that mucormycosis had an overall mortality rate of 54 percent.

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