Days after the Centres prod, the Maharashtra government has classified mucormycosis, or the deadly black fungus, as a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.
The state is also mulling capping the prohibitive treatment cost in private hospitals. It has already announced that its Health Insurance scheme would cover the cost in empanelled hospitals.
Once a disease is declared notifiable, the law requires that every patient is reported to the authorities. This allows proper monitoring and provides the authorities early warning of possible outbreaks. Several states like Karnataka, Gujarat and Rajasthan have already declared mucormycosis a notifiable disease.