Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij on May 15 said the state has declared black fungus a notified disease. He further said that now doctors will have to report to chief medical officers of the district of any black fungus case detected.
Senior doctors at Post-Graduate Institute Rohtak will conduct a video conference with all doctors of the state dealing with the coronavirus pandemic about the treatment of the black fungus.
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"Black Fungus declared Notified Disease in Haryana. Now Doctors will report to CMOs of the District of any Black Fungus case detected. Post Graduate Institute Rohtak Senior Doctors will conduct a video conference with all Doctors of the State dealing Corona about its treatment," Anil Vij said in a tweet.
Also Read: A quick guide to Mucormycosis — the life-threatening fungal infection in COVID-19 patients
“A state-level committee of doctors should be constituted to monitor the condition of such patients in all the districts of the state and also identify other patients who may be afflicted with it and start their treatment at the earliest."
“Also, the Haryana government should bear the entire cost of treatment and medicines for the patients suffering from black fungus,” the Congress leader said in a statement.
A notifiable disease is any disease that is required by law to be reported to government authorities. The collation of information allows the authorities to monitor the disease and provides early warning of possible outbreaks.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), mucormycosis is a fungal infection that mainly affects people who are on medication for other health problems that reduce their ability to fight environmental pathogens. Sinuses or lungs of such individuals get affected after fungal spores are inhaled from the air.
Treatment for the condition includes drugs such as amphotericin B or posaconazole, both of which are readily available.
Recently, several states have flagged cases of COVID-triggered mucormycosis, especially among patients who are diabetic. Till now, mucormycosis/black fungus has been reported in the state of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Karnataka, Uttarakhand.
Earlier this month, Niti Aayog member (health) V K Paul had ruled out an outbreak of COVID-triggered mucormycosis and said that the situation was being monitored.
Meanwhile, Haryana reported 10,608 new COVID-19 cases and 164 deaths in the past 24 hours on May 14.
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