Bengaluru, 16 Nov

Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has urged all government and private hospitals in the state to strictly comply with the Supreme Court’s new directives on the treatment of dog, snake and other animal-bite cases. The Minister issued the appeal in a post on X on Saturday, outlining the court’s instructions.

According to the guidelines, private hospitals must treat animal-bite victims without demanding advance payment, and all hospitals are required to maintain mandatory stocks of anti-rabies vaccines and rabies immunoglobulin at all times. The Centre aims to eliminate dog-mediated rabies deaths by 2030, and the court stressed that uninterrupted availability of these medicines is essential.

Rabies has been declared a notifiable disease in Karnataka, and hospitals must report all cases to health authorities. Both government and private institutions must provide free anti-rabies vaccines, equine rabies immunoglobulin and essential first aid.

Hospitals have been instructed to offer immediate screening, administer first aid, and refer patients to higher centres if facilities are inadequate. The government will reimburse treatment costs under the SAST scheme, and action will be taken against hospitals that refuse care.

The court has also warned that medical negligence leading to death in such cases could result in up to two years’ imprisonment for the responsible medical officer and even cancellation of hospital licences.