First ever case of `Optic Neuritis` after black fungus; Kanpur authorities on alert

Optic neuritis uncovers a new form of black fungus, this becomes the first case in the world.

Kanpur: The first patient with optic neuritis from black fungus has been reported at Hallett Hospital in Kanpur city. Due to this optic neuritis, the nerves of the patient's eyes become inflamed and the patient's eyesight goes out due to damage to the nerves. The claim is that this is not just the very first case in the country but in the world in which the veins of the eyes of the patients get swollen. Due to damage to the nerves, the patient loses his eyesight. Along with the treatment of the patient admitted in Hallet, doctors have also started research on him.

The patient has been admitted to the hospital for the past 15 days.

30-year-old Ashish who was suffering from optic neuritis was admitted 15 days ago. He was suffering from black fungus. Along with the treatment of this patient by the Medical College, doctors have also started research on him. Optic neuritis uncovers a new form of black fungus. 

Dr Parvez Khan, Head of Ophthalmology Department of Hallett Hospital said that due to black fungus, many patients with artery blockage came and we also treated them but this is the first patient with optic neuritis. At the moment, both his eyesight has been greatly affected. This fungal infection causes swelling of the veins and blood clots, due to which the patient loses his eyesight.

India's first case

Dr Shalini Mohan of the Ophthalmology Department said, no such patient has come to any hospital in the country till now. We claim that this is the first patient with optic neuritis. We will complete the research on this patient and it will be sent to international journals as well. We are also studying the cases of black fungus.

Cases of artery blockage increased after COVID-19

Most of the patients had high blood sugar during the treatment of corona, due to which they also got black fungus infection. If the treatment is not received at the right time, the eyesight of the patient can also be lost. In fact, steroids were given to patients in the treatment of corona.  According to doctors, only one patient with artery blockage came in the first wave of the coronavirus. In the second wave, more than seven of its patients came, are being treated in the hospital.

Recently two patients were found

Recently, due to infection in the second wave of the coronavirus, one patient lost an eye and the other patient lost both eyesight due to infection. Black fungus (Mucormycosis) has also been found in the vitreous fluid of the eyeball. Medical college experts claim that the first case in the world was found in Delhi. Including two cases here, only three cases have been reported in the world so far.

What is optic neuritis?

Optic neuritis is an eye disease in which the optic nerve, the nerve that sends messages from the eye to the brain, gets inflamed. The optic nerve is covered by a layer of fatty material called Myelin. It rapidly sends electrical impulses from the eye to the brain where they are converted into visual information. When the optic nerve becomes inflamed, the myelin is damaged. Due to which the nerve fibre is not able to send messages to the brain and due to this eyesight can be lost. Optic neuritis occurs suddenly in which the eyes have blurred vision and the person suffering from it is unable to recognize colours.