New Delhi: India has for the first time reported Cytomegalovirus (CMV) cases related to rectal bleeding in COVID immunocompetent patients in Delhi. This came to the fore as Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in the national capital diagnosed five cases of Cytomegalovirus.
Some patients came in complaining of rectal bleeding, which upon diagnosis was linked to Cytomegalovirus, as per the hospital. These patients experienced this condition after testing Covid-19 positive.
These cases were detected in April-May during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, said a report prepared by a group of senior doctors in Sir Ganga Ram hospital.
Two patients had massive bleeding and one required emergency lifesaving surgery in the form of removal of the right side of the colon said the doctors.
One of them succumbed due to massive bleeding and severe Covid chest disease.
“Other three patients were successfully treated with antiviral therapy with ganciclovir,” said Dr. Anil Arora, chairman of the Institute of Liver Gastroenterology and Pancreaticobiliary Sciences in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
Another senior doctor Praveen Sharma said a high index of suspicion and timely diagnosis and effective antiviral therapy can save many precious lives in such cases.
Cytomegalovirus colitis was confirmed by PCR testing for CMV viremia and tissue biopsy from the large intestine which showed intranuclear inclusion bodies, the hospital said.
The Covid infection and the treatment can be responsible for uncommon infections, one of which is Cytomegalovirus, as per the report.
“This virus exists in 80 to 90 percent of the Indian population. However, it is unlikely for symptoms to show because physical immunity is strong enough to make it clinically asymptomatic,” IANS quoted the report as saying.