Health risks from dead bodies

After disasters with extensive loss of life due to trauma&mdash;earthquakes, storms, human conflict, etc.&mdash; many resources are often expended on burying the dead quickly, and applying disinfectant to bodies, to prevent disease. This may be an inappropriate use of scarce resources and manpower.

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 Center for Public Health and Disasters, said that no scientific evidence exists that bodies of disaster victims increase the risk of epidemics, adding that cadavers posed less risk of contagion than living people. In disasters involving trauma where there is competition for resources, it is recommended that priority be given to caring for survivors (improving sanitation, providing clean water or facilities for boiling or otherwise disinfecting water, providing food, clothing and shelter), and not disinfecting and disposing urgently of the dead. Countervailing considerations include religious and cultural practices, the stench, and the effect on morale.

This advice does not apply in the case of a health disaster such as an epidemic where the victims are affected by diseases which can be communicated by dead bodies.

The incorrect notion that all dead bodies inherently cause diseases is probably a combination of:
 * 1) The incorrect miasma theory of disease, which holds that diseases are spread by foul air&mdash;in this case fouled by the stench of decomposing corpses.
 * 2) Confusion between normal decay processes and signs of disease
 * 3) After a major disaster disease among survivors living in harsh conditions with poor sanitation is common.
 * 4) Noting that corpses of those who died from certain contagious diseases (for example, in epidemics) do, indeed, spread disease.

Real risks
Contamination of water supplies by unburied bodies, burial sites, or temporary storage sites may result in the spread of gastroenteritis (presumably from normal intestinal contents).

From Infectious Disease Risks From Dead Bodies Following Natural Disasters: "There is little evidence of microbiological contamination of groundwater from burial ... Where dead bodies have contaminated water supplies, gastroenteritis has been the most notable problem, although communities will rarely use a water supply where they know it to be contaminated by dead bodies."

There is a health risk from chronic infectious diseases which spread by direct contact (for example: hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, enteric (intestinal) pathogens, and tuberculosis) to those in close contact with the dead, such as rescue workers.

For detailed information

 * 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