Telangana declares Black fungus an epidemic

TS makes it a notifiable disease under Epidemic Diseases Act 1897

Hyderabad: The State government on Thursday declared fungal infection mucormycosis (black fungus) as a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897.

Following this, all government and private healthcare facilities have to report cases of fungal infection to the Health Department every day.

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In a notification issued here on Thursday, the Director of Public Health (DPH) Dr G Srinivasa Rao directed all health facilities to follow the guidelines released by the Union Health Ministry and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for screening, diagnosis and management of mucormycosis. Medical superintendents of all hospitals were directed to ensure strict compliance of these guidelines and send a daily report attached in the form of an annexure to email id: idsp@telangana.gov.in, the notification said.

The move comes amid growing number of cases of black fungus, mostly seen in Covid-19 survivors due to the steroids administered to them during the treatment. Many patients are approaching government-run ENT Hospital at Koti in Hyderabad, which has been designated to treat the fungal infection.

The Union Health Ministry too appealed to all the States and Union Territories (UTs) to declare mucormycosis as a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Disease Act 1897. Besides Telangana, Rajasthan has declared the disease as an epidemic.

People catch mucormycosis by coming in contact with the fungal spores in the environment. It can also develop on the skin after the fungus enters the skin through a cut, scrape, burn, or other types of skin trauma, the Ministry said.

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