Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Researchers at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar have discovered a new fungus reportedly causing mucormycosis as informed by the Associate Professor of Microbiology.
According to the reports, Vinaykumar Hallur, Associate Professor of Microbiology tweeted- “Cunninghamella arunalokei is a new species of Cunninghamella from India causing disease in an immunocompetent individual.” Further, it is reported that the study has been published in the Journal of Fungi and he along with five other researchers from the premier medical institute in the city capital was part of the nine-member study team.
Further, the report added that the infections due to Cunninghamella species are relatively rare in India in comparison to other countries. Cunninghamella species rarely cause invasive mucormycosis, and the infections had been described predominantly in immunocompromised patients. Isolation of Cunninghamella species in an immunocompetent host is extremely rare, and to date, only three cases have been described. Further, the possibility of increased virulence of the pathogen cannot be ruled out..
Mucormycosis, which has an overall mortality rate of 50%, is well known to infect patients with diabetes mellitus, malignancy, chemotherapy, and other immunocompromised conditions. It was seen in COVID-19 patients, possibly triggered by the use of steroids.
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