Centre asks States to declare mucormycosis an epidemic

The Union government has asked the States to declare mucormycosis, the fungal infection being reported in COVID-19 patients, an epidemic.

Context

The Union government has asked the States to declare mucormycosis, the fungal infection being reported in COVID-19 patients, an epidemic.

The Union Ministry of health and Family Welfare requested to make mucormycosis a notifiable disease under Epidemic Diseases Act 1897.
Use: Declaring the black fungus infection seen in COVID-19 patients an epidemic would lead to health facilities screening for it and reporting all such cases to the government.
Reasons: It is a new challenge in the form of a fungal infection, namely mucormycosis.
It has emerged and is reported from many States amongst COVID-19 patients, especially in those who are on steroid therapy and deranged sugar control.
This infection is leading to prolonged morbidity and mortality amongst COVID-19 patients.
Rajasthan, Telangana and Tamil Nadu have declared it an epidemic.

This was first enacted to tackle bubonic plague in Mumbai in former British India.
The law is meant for containment of epidemics by providing special powers that are required for the implementation of containment measures to control the spread of the disease.
A disease can be declared as epidemic by State or Central government.

In 2018, the Act was enforced as cholera began to spread in a region of Gujarat.
In 2015, it was used to deal with dengue and malaria in Chandigarh .
In 2009 it was invoked in Pune to combat swine flu.
In 2020, in order to limit the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 during the COVID-19 pandemic in India