The health risks of dead bodies are dangers related to the improper preparation and disposal of
cadavers
A cadaver or corpse is a dead human body that is used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in a living human being. Stud ...
. While normal circumstances allow cadavers to be quickly
embalmed
Embalming is the art and science of preserving human remains by treating them (in its modern form with chemicals) to forestall decomposition. This is usually done to make the deceased suitable for public or private viewing as part of the funeral ...
,
cremated
Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning.
Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...
, or
buried;
natural and man-made disasters can quickly overwhelm and/or interrupt the established protocols for dealing with the dead. Under such circumstances, the
decomposition
Decomposition or rot is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is e ...
and
putrefaction
Putrefaction is the fifth stage of death, following pallor mortis, algor mortis, rigor mortis, and livor mortis. This process references the breaking down of a body of an animal, such as a human, post-mortem. In broad terms, it can be viewed ...
of cadavers goes unchecked, and raises a series of health, logistical, and psychological issues. After
disaster
A disaster is a serious problem occurring over a short or long period of time that causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources ...
s with extensive loss of life due to
trauma
Trauma most often refers to:
* Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source
* Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event
*Traumatic i ...
rather than disease—earthquakes, storms, human conflict, etc.—many resources are often expended on burying the dead quickly, and applying
disinfectant
A disinfectant is a chemical substance or compound used to inactivate or destroy microorganisms on inert surfaces. Disinfection does not necessarily kill all microorganisms, especially resistant bacterial spores; it is less effective than st ...
to bodies for the specific purpose of preventing
disease
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...
. Specialists say that spraying is a waste of disinfectant and manpower, that "resources that should be going into establishment of water supply, sanitation, shelter, warmth and hygienic food for the survivors are being applied to digging mass graves", and that "Time and time again, eminent and authoritative experts have pointed out that dead bodies do not constitute a health hazard".
[
]
False risks
According to health professionals, the fear of spread of disease by bodies killed by trauma rather than disease is not justified. Among others, Steven Rottman, director of the UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
Center for Public Health and Disasters, said that no scientific evidence exists that bodies of disaster victims increase the risk of epidemics
An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time.
Epidemics of infectious d ...
, adding that cadaver
A cadaver or corpse is a dead human body that is used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in a living human being. Stud ...
s posed less risk of contagion than living people. In disasters involving trauma where there is competition for resources, efforts should be focused on establishment of water supply, sanitation
Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...
, shelter, warmth and hygienic food for the survivors, not digging mass grave
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of execution, although an exact ...
s. Spraying is a waste of disinfectant and manpower. Indiscriminate burial of corpses demoralises survivors and the lack of death certificates can cause practical problems to survivors.
Other considerations which are very important, but not directly relevant to the topic of health risks, include religious and cultural practices, the stench, and the effect on morale.
Roots of incorrect notion
The incorrect notion that ''all'' dead bodies inherently cause disease
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...
s is consistent with:
#The incorrect historical miasma theory of disease
The miasma theory (also called the miasmatic theory) is an obsolete medical theory that held that diseases—such as cholera, chlamydia, or the Black Death—were caused by a ''miasma'' (, Ancient Greek for 'pollution'), a noxious form of "bad ...
, which held that diseases are spread by foul air—in this case fouled by the stench of decomposing corpses.
#Confusion between normal decay processes and signs of disease; and the incorrect idea that microorganisms
A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...
responsible for decomposition are dangerous to living people. "Microorganisms involved in the decay process (putrefaction) are not pathogenic".[
#After a major disaster disease among survivors is indeed a problem, but is actually due to living in harsh conditions with poor sanitation. "Survivors present a much more important reservoir for disease han cadavers.][
#Noting that corpses of those who died from certain ]contagious disease
A contagious disease is an infectious disease that is readily spread (that is, communicated) by transmission of a pathogen through contact (direct or indirect) with an infected person.
A disease is often known to be contagious before medical s ...
s (for example, in epidemics) do, indeed, spread disease, such as is the case with ebola
Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after becom ...
, smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
, and the 1918 flu, and incorrectly generalising this to all corpses.
According to the Pan American Health Organization
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is an international public health agency working to improve the health and living standards of the people of the Americas. It is part of the United Nations system, serving as the Regional Office for ...
(PAHO) "concern that dead bodies are infectious can be considered a 'natural' reaction by persons wanting to protect themselves from disease" although "the risk that bodies f those killed in a natural disasterpose for the public is extremely small".[
]
Real risks
Contamination of water supplies by unburied bodies, burial sites, or temporary storage sites may result in the spread of gastroenteritis
Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea and gastro, is an inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of energy, and dehydra ...
from normal intestinal contents.
According to a PAHO article on the Infectious Disease Risks From Dead Bodies Following Natural Disasters:
To those in close contact with the dead, such as rescue workers, there is a health risk from chronic infectious diseases which those killed may have been suffering from and which spread by direct contact, including hepatitis B and hepatitis C, HIV, enteric intestinal pathogens, tuberculosis, cholera and others.[
The substances ]cadaverine
Cadaverine is an organic compound with the formula (CH2)5(NH2)2. Classified as diamine, it is a colorless liquid with an unpleasant odor. It is present in small quantities in living organisms but is often associated with the putrefaction of anim ...
and putrescine
Putrescine is an organic compound with the formula (CH2)4(NH2)2. It is a colorless solid that melts near room temperature. It is classified as a diamine. Together with cadaverine, it is largely responsible for the foul odor of putrefying flesh, b ...
are produced during the decomposition
Decomposition or rot is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is e ...
of animal (including human) bodies, and both give off a foul odor. They are toxic if massive doses are ingested ( acute oral toxicity of 2 g per kg of body weight of pure putrescine in rats, a larger dose for cadaverine); there are no effects at all for a tenth of that dose. While figures for humans are not available, allometric scaling
Allometry is the study of the relationship of body size to shape, anatomy, physiology and finally behaviour, first outlined by Otto Snell in 1892, by D'Arcy Thompson in 1917 in ''On Growth and Form'' and by Julian Huxley in 1932.
Overview
Allo ...
, which takes into account body surface area, is often used to compare doses in different animals, with useful results.[ Online allometric scaling calculator, with explanation and source.] Scaling 2g/kg from rats suggests that a 60 kg (132 lb) person would be significantly affected by [Using allometric calculator cited, with rat weight=0.15kg, usual exponent of 0.75] of pure putrescine. For comparison the similar substance spermine
Spermine is a polyamine involved in cellular metabolism that is found in all Eukaryote, eukaryotic cells. The precursor for synthesis of spermine is the amino acid ornithine. It is an essential growth factor in some Bacterium, bacteria as well. ...
, found in semen
Semen, also known as seminal fluid, is an organic bodily fluid created to contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads (sexual glands) and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize the female ovum. Semen i ...
, is over 3 times as toxic.
See also
*Neurine
Neurine is an alkaloid found in egg yolk, brain, bile and in cadavers. It is formed during putrefaction of biological tissues by the dehydration of choline. It is a poisonous, syrupy liquid with a fishy odor.
Neurine is a quaternary ammonium sa ...
References
External links
WHO guidelines on hygiene precautions when dealing with disposal of remains
Health and safety information related to water purification, disease prevention, and management of dead bodies
— WHO: Corpses pose little threat
mdash; Are Dead Bodies Dangerous?
Talking About Dead Bodies: Risk Communication After a Catastrophe
Management of Dead Bodies After Disasters: A Field Manual for First Responders, 2nd ed.
Pan American Health Organization
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is an international public health agency working to improve the health and living standards of the people of the Americas. It is part of the United Nations system, serving as the Regional Office for ...
, 2009. Downloadable book including printable forms such as ''Dead body identification form'', ''Missing persons form'', ''Label for dead body'', etc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Health Risks From Dead Bodies
Hygiene
Safety
Emergency management
Medical aspects of death
Health risk