Gujarat: Alarmed by over 2,000 cases of mucormycosis or “black fungus” reported in Covid-19 patients, the Gujarat government has declared it an “epidemic” and made it a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act.

As per the central government data, Gujarat currently has 2,281 mucormycosis patients the highest for any state in the country. The disease has claimed more than 250 lives in the state so far. The decision by the Gujarat government was taken on Thursday during a core committee meeting chaired by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.To deal with the rise in cases, special wards in civil hospitals in Ahmedabad, Surat, and Rajkot have been set up, the Hindu reported. In the Ahmedabad Civil hospital, nearly all the beds have been filled up as cases requiring urgent medical attention are rising, the report said. As of Thursday, as many as 980 mucormycosis patients were being treated for black fungus across four government hospitals in three cities — Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, SSG Hospital, and GMERS Gotri at Vadodara and PDU Hospital in Rajkot.

the Rajasthan government has issued a notification declaring black fungus as an epidemic in the state. As of Wednesday, the state had nearly 100 cases of black fungus. Apart from Gujarat, cases of black fungus have been reported from several other states including Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana. Rajasthan on Wednesday was the first state to declare the infection an epidemic. After Rajasthan, the Telangana government declared mucormycosis a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897. In a notification, the Telangana government said, “Fungal infection mucormycosis is hereby declared as a notifiable disease under Epidemic Diseases Act 1897.”