Concerned over increasing cases of Black Fungus (MucorMycosis) in patients suffering or recovering from COVID-19, Punjab Government on Thursday directed training of the staff of Level-III Government Hospitals besides ordering the required medicines.
A day after the State Government notified Black Fungus as a disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act, the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh directed the Health Department to ensure that the necessary medicines for treating the same are made available to all the government hospitals, including in the rural areas.
He also asked the Department to depute doctors at the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in the villages to ensure early detection and treatment of the Black Fungus, which has been reported from many states, in the rural areas.
Stressing that early detection of the disease could prevent it from being fatal, the Chief Minister asked the COVID Expert team, headed by Dr KK Talwar, to ensure that doctors in the Level-III facilities of all government hospitals are directed on proper treatment of COVID patients to check irrational use of steroids, which had been identified as the main cause of this disease, especially among diabetic patients.
Dr Talwar told the COVID review meeting that excessive use of steroids in COVID treatment was causing problems. He said that the doctors were being guided to use substitutes and the Expert Group was trying to finalize a line of treatment with substitutes and alternates.
The Chief Minister also asked Dr Talwar and his team to analyze why patients were returning to hospitals even after recovering from COVID.
Notably, in the first phase, the state did not report any cases of black fungus, even though incidence of the same was reported from several other states.
The Chief Minister, however, made it clear that this should not be taken as precedence and the situation could change any moment, which necessitated strict preventive measures. “This is the reason the Government has, yesterday, itself notified the disease under the Epidemic Act, even though no such guidelines had been issued then by the Centre,” he added.
BLACK FUNGUS NOTIFIED AS A DISEASE UNDER EDA
Declaring Black Fungus or Mucormycosis a notified disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act, Punjab Government has made it mandatory for all government and private healthcare facilities across the State to report every suspected or confirmed case of the disease. The notification highlighted that ordinary provisions of law in force are insufficient to check the outbreaks of “dangerous epidemic disease namely Mucormycosis among COVID-19” patients being treated with steroids.
It added that all healthcare facilities in Punjab, including both government and private, will follow the guidelines for screening, diagnosis, and management of Mucormycosis issued by the Central Government and Punjab’s Health Department. “All healthcare facilities (government and private) will report each and every suspected and confirmed case of Mucormycosis among COVID-19 patients to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, through the Civil Surgeon of respective districts,” read the notification.
It added that no person or institution or organization will use any print or media in any form for spreading any information regarding management of Mucormycosis among COVID-19 patients without permission of the Health Department. “Spreading of any rumour or unscientific information regarding this disease will be a punishable offence under the notification,” it added.
· Black Fungus notified as disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act
· Train the staff of L3 Government Hospitals
· Ensure availability of necessary medicines for treating Black Fungus to all Govt Hospitals, rural PHCs
· Health Dept asked to depute doctors at the PHCs in villages to ensure early detection and treatment
· State’s COVID Expert team asked to ensure that doctors in L3 facilities of all Govt Hospitals are directed on proper treatment of COVID patients to check irrational use of steroids
· Doctors guided to use substitutes of steroids for COVID-19 treatment
· Expert Group finalizing a line of treatment with substitutes and alternates
· Expert Group asked to analyze why patients returning to hospitals even after recovering from COVID