Uttar Pradesh declares Black Fungus an epidemic
Amid increasing concern over the rising cases of Black Fungus, also known as mucormycosis, Uttar Pradesh on Friday declared the deadly infection as an epidemic, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said. The state has so far registered 169 cases of mucormycosis and eight deaths due to it.
Earlier on Thursday, the Union Health Ministry had urged states and union territories to make black fungus or mucormycosis a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, stating that the infection is leading to prolonged morbidity and mortality amongst COVID-19 patients.
"You are requested to make mucormycosis a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, wherein all government and private health facilities, medical colleges will follow guidelines for screening, diagnosis, management of mucormycosis, issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Gol) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Govt also asked states and UTs to make it mandatory for government and private hospitals to report all suspected and confirmed cases.
Responding to the Centre, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Gujarat and the UT of Chandigarh declared the disease an epidemic.
Telangana and Rajasthan had already declared mucormycosis as an epidemic few days back.
Cases of black fungus have been reported in various parts of the country including Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Bihar. Maharashtra has seen over 1500 cases and 90 fatalities from the disease- all Covid survivors.
Mucormycosis, which is primarily affecting people recovering from Covid-19, as per sources, has also infected several people in the national capital as it is caused by the steroid administered in the treatment of coronavirus.
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