The Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) on Wednesday said that the total number of black fungus cases in the country is now up to 10.

The health ministry said that the new cases of black fungus were reported from at least 5 provinces and all involved patients with COVID-19.

“Facemasks and oxygen provide a wet environment for black fungus, it is good if the masks are changed daily among the patients,” said health expert Hashmat Faizi.

“It can be found in the soil ... and in the air, those who work in the fields can be infected with this virus,” said Lais Mustafa, the head of the anti-COVID department at the Ministry of Public Health.

Health experts said that medicine for the disease is scarce in Afghanistan.

“We can hardly find the medicine,” said Abdul Manan, a patient.

According to the Ministry of Public Health, 62 new patients with COVID-19 died in the past 24 hours and over 1000 others were tested positive during this period.

According to health experts, COVID-19 significantly reduces patients’ immunity and opens the way for the fungal disease that affects patients initially in the nose, but the fungus can then spread into the brain, and can often only be treated by major surgery removing the affected part of the body.