Indian doctors are warning that the Delta variant that has ravaged India with millions of cases so far, is now causing gangrene and hearing loss as never-before-seen side effects from any previous strain of the coronavirus.
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A direct correlation?
On top of being the most infectious mutation of the virus yet, medics have reported a surge in patients coming in with sudden deafness or gangrene caused by blood clots that they claim is related to COVID-19. Dr. Ganesh Manudhane, a cardiologist in Mumbai said:
I saw three to four cases the whole of last year, and now it’s one patient a week. We suspect it could be because of the new virus variant.
What is gangrene?
Gangrene is a condition in which a person's flesh dies by rotting over time while still remaining intact in the body largely due to a lack of oxygen being reached to the tissue as a result of blocked blood supply. In many cases, amputations are required.
In the past, the coronavirus has been linked to causing clots in several people who were affected more severely than others. Blood clots can very easily become trapped in small blood vessels and as a result cut off the blood supply which could result in gangrene if left untreated.
With the situation in India having escalated as quickly as it did, hospitals were saturated and left in the incapacity to treat every patient which could be the cause as to why some were left with cases of gangrene.
Although thousands of cases of the Delta variant have been reported in the UK, no data having recorded gangrene or hearing loss has emerged. Scientists are now saying that the development of these two side effects are circumstantial and particular to the situation in India.
