• All hospitals must stock anti-rabies, anti-snakebite drugs: Govt. circular
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Bengaluru: In response to rising street dog attacks and recent Supreme Court directives on dog bite management, the Karnataka Government has issued a crucial circular mandating that all Government and private hospitals maintain an uninterrupted stock of anti-rabies vaccines, Equine Rabies Immunoglobulin and anti-snake venom.

The circular stresses that these life-saving treatments must be available at all times, provided free of cost and administered without delay.

Significantly, failure to provide mandatory care — particularly if it results in death — will amount to medical negligence. Under Section 106 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, such negligence can attract criminal prosecution and imprisonment   of up to two years.

Repeated or grave violations may even lead to cancellation of hospital licences.

It may be recalled that in 2024, Government added snakebite to the list of Notifiable Diseases under the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP), covering all health facilities.

With this classification, all Government and private hospitals and medical institutions are required to compulsorily report all cases — both inpatient and outpatient — seeking treatment for or succumbing to snakebites by uploading their details on IHIP.

Supreme Court directive

The latest circular reinforces the Supreme Court’s order and Karnataka’s declaration of rabies as a notifiable disease. It aligns with India’s national mission to eliminate human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030. Hospitals are now legally bound to provide timely rabies treatment, including single-dose Equine Rabies Immunoglobulin, without any delay.

The Government has also highlighted the continued seriousness of snakebite-related deaths and complications. Hospitals located closest to such incidents must provide assured emergency care. To ensure compliance, unrecovered treatment costs will be reimbursed under the Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust scheme based on district-level registration and grievance protocols.

Care at private hospitals

Under the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act, 2007, private hospitals are legally obligated to provide specified emergency services. As per the latest circular, all private hospitals must offer immediate first aid and life-saving treatment to victims of dog bites, other animal attacks and snakebites without demanding advance payment.

Additionally, under the Karnataka Good Samaritan and Medical Professional Act, 2016, hospitals must provide free medical examination and initial treatment to all patients. If a facility lacks the required infrastructure, it must stabilise the patient before referring them to a better-equipped centre, the circular states.