Epidemiology of mucormycosis in COVID-19 patients in northwest Iran: Rhizopus arrhizus as the predominant species
This study found that COVID-19 patients in northwestern Iran who received high-dose steroid treatment developed serious fungal infections called mucormycosis. The infection was caused primarily by a fungus called Rhizopus arrhizus and affected mainly the sinuses and brain. The steroids used to treat COVID-19 weakened patients’ immune systems and triggered diabetes, both of which made them vulnerable to this dangerous fungal infection.