Maharashtra’s first known case of paediatric mucormycosis — the black fungus which has been manifesting in Covid-19 patients — has led to a Std VIII student, Sanika Lingayat, losing her sight in one eye.

The 14-year-old Ratnagiri resident was referred to the civic-run RN Cooper Hospital in Andheri last week with a loss of vision in her right eye and swelling in the cheek region, said the Opthalmology department in-charge Dr Charuta Mandke, under whom Sanika is admitted. “Since she came with vision loss of right eye last week, we had a biopsy done. We first suspected it was a tumour and pursued that line of treatment since there was no history of Covid-19,” she said, adding, “We knew we had to remove the right eye to save her life, but further medical investigation was also necessary. We sought an opinion from the ENT (Ear Nose Throat) team.” The ENT team asked for an MRI which confirmed what the earlier biopsy report said about the presence of mucormycosis.