A Task Force Committee chaired by the Director of Medical Education (DME) has been constituted to advise the State government on issues related to mucormycosis, the invasive fungal disease being reported in patients recovering from COVID-19.
The committee, which comprises 12 members including medical experts drawn from a number of specialities from government and private hospitals, would advise the government on prevention and treatment of mucormycosis and update it on the latest translational research on mucormycosis.
While the DME is the chairman of the committee, the director of Regional Institute of Ophthalmology and Government Ophthalmic Hospital is the member secretary. The directors of Medical and Rural Health Services and Public Health and Preventive Medicines are among the members of the committee.
ENT specialists Mohan Kameswaran of Madras ENT Research Foundation and Babu Manohar of Apollo Hospitals, infectious diseases specialists Subramanian Swaminathan of Global Hospital and V. Ramasubramanian of Apollo Hospitals, Mohan Rajan of Rajan Eye Care, microbiologists Anupama Nithya of Sri Ramachandra Hospital and Balajee of Global Hospital, the heads of ENT and Microbiology departments of Madras Medical College are the other members of the task force.
The State government on May 20 declared mucormycosis as a notified disease under the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act, 1939.
