Treat sudden deaths as notifiable disease: Govt

The state government on Monday decided to treat sudden deaths as “notifiable disease” and conduct postmortem in such cases.

- Press Trust of India

Health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said there will be more screening of people above the age of 15 years in the state.

The minister's remarks came in the wake of a spate of heart attacks in the state, especially in Hassan district.

He also sought to clarify that chief minister Siddaramaiah’s statement linking Covid vaccine with the spate of heart attacks was not with any mala fide intention.

“We have decided to announce sudden deaths as a notifiable disease. The government should be notified if sudden deaths happen outside hospitals,” Rao said ina press conference. He said autopsy will be made compulsory in cases of sudden deaths.

The minister underlined the need for screening more people, including children about 15 years of age at least once a year “because there are people who have diseases since birth”.

Rao also announced incorporating a subject on heart attacks and diseases causing sudden deaths in the textbooks.

“We have sent a format to the education department to include a chapter on sudden deaths in their curriculum. This will be included in next academic year,” Rao said.