Tamil Nadu Health Secretary said, “Nine people have Mucormycosis in the state. Of the nine, seven patients are diabetic while the remaining two patients do not have diabetics. Some have infections in their eyes and treatment has been started for all them. There is no death reported till now”.
Mucormycosis is a fungal infection in which sinuses or lungs are affected after fungal spores in the air are inhaled. Though the infection is present even before COVID-19 infection, now there is significant increase in cases of ‘Covid-19-associated mucormycosis (CAM)’ resulting in panic among public.
‘It is mandatory to report all cases of Mucormycosis to the government.’
This is due to broadly two reasons: in Covid-19 patients who have severe diabetes, the risk of fungal infection is high; and due to the indiscriminate use of steroids in the treatment for Covid-19.
Already the Health Ministry has made the infection notifiable under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 With several parts of the country reporting a surge in the supplementary fungal infection mucormycosis in Covid-19 patients.
Considering the nature of infection, Tamil Nadu has declared this as a notifiable disease to make mandatory for all hospitals to report all cases of Mucormycosis to the director of public health.
Source: Medindia
