Bihar Government Declares Black Fungus An Epidemic

The Bihar government declared Black Fungus an epidemic on Saturday. State Health Minister Mangal Pandey said that it has been notified under the Epidemic Disease Act on the instructions of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, in view of the increasing cases of black fungus (mucarmycosis) in the state.For this, the Health Department has also issued several guidelines. The Health Minister informed that all private and government medical institutions will report cases of suspected and confirmed patients of black fungus to the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program of the Health Department through the district’s civil surgeon.He said that all the hospitals have been instructed to follow the guidelines issued by the central and state government regarding the investigation, treatment and management of black fungus. Health Minister Pandey said that appropriate action will be taken against the concerned for violating the guidelines.Mangal Pandey said, “If any institution violates this provision, it will be punished under Section-3 of the Epidemic Disease Act. Also no suit or legal action should be instituted in accordance with the provisions of Section-4. The notification will be effective for one year from the date of issueFor the treatment of this disease, 6 thousand vials of the necessary drug amphotericin have already been made available by the state government for different medical college cum hospitals and various private hospitals, which will be given free of cost to the patients .