Cadavers Do Not Cause Epidemics

Human casualties are the most tragic outcome of natural disasters. But experts at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) say a commonly held misconception adds to that tragedy: the idea that dead bodies must be buried as quickly as possible to avoid epidemics.

According to the PAHO manual Management of Cadavers in Disaster Situations, cadavers do not lead to disease outbreaks. The belief that they do often leads to mass burials without identifying remains.

"Unfortunately, we continue to see the use of common graves and mass cremations for the rapid disposal of bodies, based on the myth that bodies represent a high risk as a source of epidemics," says PAHO Director Mirta Roses in the introduction to the PAHO manual. In fact, the manual explains, pathogens are unable to survive for very long in dead bodies.

The failure to identify remains and conduct proper burials "not only contravenes the cultural norms and religious beliefs of the population, it also generates social, psychological, emotional, economic, and legal consequences that exacerbate the damage caused by the disaster itself," Roses notes.

To counter the practice of mass burials, PAHO developed these recommendations:

• Provide survivors with access to victims' bodies and support for their final disposition;
• Conduct burials in such a way as to permit later exhumation. Above all, avoid mass burials and cremations;
• Raise awareness among the public and authorities that cadavers do not cause epidemics;
• Make identification of remains a priority to avoid adverse legal consequences and other long-term problems;
• Avoid subjecting relief personnel and the general population to mass vaccination against diseases supposedly transmitted by cadavers;
• Respect cultural and religious beliefs, even when the identities of the dead are unknown, showing respect for the feelings of those at the site of the tragedy.