Cases of "pulmonary aspergillosis", an invasive fungal infection of the lungs, are being reported among patients with severe HINI infection by doctors in Pune and Mumbai. Experts said that it starts to manifest around the second or third week of an illness or just before recovery.

These individuals required ventilator assistance due to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) during their swine flu therapy. Few strains of aspergillus cause such infections, mostly among persons with compromised immune systems, lung conditions, or asthma who inhale the spores.

According to Dr. Parikshit Prayag of the infectious diseases department at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, aspergillosis in patients with influenza, particularly H1N1, has a better prognosis if treated quickly. The infection clears up after four to six weeks of treatment with anti-fungal medications such as voriconazole. In the previous two months, he had treated seven swine flu patients with pulmonary aspergillosis. Over the past three weeks, Sahyadri Hospital′s Dr. Mahesh Lakhe has treated four patients with pulmonary aspergillosis.

Dr. Wasim Khot of Global Hospital (Parel), a specialist in infectious diseases in Mumbai, stated that commonly influenza is linked to secondary bacterial infections. But over the past few years, both in India and elsewhere, there has been an upsurge in influenza-related pulmonary aspergillosis. (ETHealthWorld, August 28, 2022)