‘Black fungus’ declared as notifiable disease in Tamil Nadu

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Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday declared ‘black fungus’ or Mucormycois as a notifiable disease after nine people were found to have been infected with it in the state.

“Currently nine people are being treated for the disease, of which six are old cases and three, new ones. Seven of them are diabetic… all are stable,” health secretary J Radhakrishnan told reporters here.

Pointing out that the black fungus was already in existence much before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, he said people with uncontrolled diabetes and consuming steroids and those in Intensive Care Units for a long time were more susceptible to the disease.

To study what measures need to be taken, a 10-member ‘Mucormycois Committee’, comprising senior medical professionals, has been formed, he said.

The advantage of announcing black fungus as a notifiable disease was that all hospitals would immediately inform the government if they come across such cases, enabling the administration know which place or district was reporting more such numbers, he said.

Radhakrishnan urged people not to panic or believe in rumours in various social media platforms about the disease. Quoting media reports, he said the impact of ‘black fungus disease’ was more in places like Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

He said the government has placed orders to procure more Amphotericin-B injections for treatment of ‘black fungus’ and added that one should not forget about the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in the state.

“The Health department is also focusing on other diseases during the Covid-19 pandemic.

We have seen 2,000 babies getting delivered amid these Covid-19 times. People need not panic about black fungus disease”, he said.