Unexplained Critical Illnesses and Deaths

Cases of unexplained critical illnesses or deaths of possible infectious etiology should be reported to the Minnesota Department of Health.

• Reporting an Unexplained Critical Illness or Death
  How to report, testing provided, and examples of cases that should be reported.
  
  
• Clinical Specimen Collection and Handling
  Types of specimens, collection and handling information, submission form, and shipping information.
  
  Testing provided through the Unexplained Critical Illness and Deaths Project for unexplained deaths that appear likely to have infectious etiologies will be primarily pathology-directed. Therefore, it is important when possible to provide optimal pathology specimens.
  
  
• Unexplained Critical Illnesses and Deaths Statistics
  Minnesota Department of Health Disease Control Newsletter, Annual Summary of Communicable Diseases Reported to the Minnesota Department of Health.
  
  
• Medical Examiner Infectious Deaths Surveillance Program (MED-X)
  A population based surveillance program to capture all possible infectious disease related deaths reported to Medical Examiners in Minnesota.
  Program Description | Case Definition | Protocol | Reporting | Specimen Collection | Statistics | Frequently Asked Questions | Resources