India battles fatal black fungus threat as coronavirus deaths approach 300,000

Patients infected with black fungus are treated at the mucormycosis ward of a government hospital in Ahmedabad, India (Ajit Solanki/AP)

Doctors in India are fighting a fatal fungal infection affecting Covid-19 patients or those who have recovered from the disease amid a coronavirus surge that has driven the country’s fatalities to nearly 300,000.

The life-threatening condition, known as mucormycosis, is relatively rare but doctors suspect that the sudden increase in the infection could further complicate India’s fight against the pandemic.