Centre tells States, UTs to notify 'Black Fungus' under Epidemic Act

The Health Ministry in this regard has issued a letter to all the states and UTs to include the disease as an epidemic.

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NEW DELHI:

The Union Health Ministry on Thursday asked the States and Union Territories to make Mucormycosis or Black Fungus a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897.

The Health Ministry in this regard has issued a letter to all the States and UTs to include the disease as an epidemic.

The Ministry via the letter stated, "The treatment of this fungal infection requires a multidisciplinary approach consisting of Eye Surgeons, ENT Specialists, General Surgeons, Neurosurgeon, Dental Maxillofacial Surgeon etc. and institution of Amphotericin B as an antifungal medicine. You are requested to make Mucormycosis a notifiable disease under Epidemic Diseases Act 1897."

Under the request, all government and private health facilities, medical colleges will follow guidelines issued by the Health Ministry and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for screening, diagnosis and management of Mucormycosis.

The Ministry has also made it mandatory for all facilities to report all suspected and confirmed cases of Fungal infection to the Health Department through the district level Chief Medical Officer and subsequently to the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) surveillance team.

It may be mentioned that various states in India have reported a surge in cases of Black Fungus infections in COVID-19 patients recently.

States like Rajasthan, Haryana, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar have been reporting cases daily.

(Edited by Shankar Kumar Turha)

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