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The novel coronavirus (also known as SARS CoV 2) that causes COVID-19 continues to amaze and baffle researchers. Today, we know how the virus transmits, how it affects our body, what symptoms it causes, and there are vaccines to protect against the infection. But a lot is still unknown about this new disease. Another new revelation about this mysterious virus has raised concern among scientists.
In a bizarre case, a dead man was found positive for SARS CoV 2 almost six full weeks after his death in Italy. This report by Jerusalem Post has reignited the debate on whether COVID-19 can spread from dead bodies.
According to media reports, a 41-year-old Ukrainian man went missing in September 2021 on the Italian coast, where he had gone for swimming in the sea with his friend. Sixteen hours later, he was found and declared dead after drowning. Strangely, the dead body was found positive for COVID-19 no less than 28 times and stayed positive for over a month, the report said.
It was revealed that the man was "completely asymptomatic" before death. Italian researchers reported the case in an article published in the BMC Journal of Medical Case Reports. They said that the man most likely had a fairly low viral load when he died.
Cristian D'Ovidio, from Center for Advanced Studies and Technology (CAST) at University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara,
The virus particles could be identified even after 41 days had passed, and the tests no longer absorbed human RNA, i.e. human cells became unrecognisable, the team wrote in the paper.
Based on this data, the researchers underscored the importance of postmortem swabs in all autopsy cases, and not only in potential COVID-related death.
Cristian D'Ovidio, from Center for Advanced Studies and Technology (CAST) at University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, in Italy, noted that pathologists should check for virus particles "long after the moment of death, even if low initial viral load has been assessed."
The Italian researchers noted that there is limited data on the presence of the virus on corpses and the risk of infection from corpses. But they emphasised importance of treatment of corpses during the pandemic as, "performing a post-mortem autopsy puts different groups of workers (pathologists, technicians and so on) in contact with a possible source of biological risk, with consequences not only from a health point of view but also medically."
In 2020, researchers from the UK had reported a similar case when COVID-19 virus was detected in the lungs of a 50-year-old man nearly a month (27 days) after he died from the disease.
What baffled the researchers the most was that swabs of his nose and throat tested right after his death had come out negative.
However, an AIIMS Delhi study had last year revealed that the transmission of COVID-19 through the dead is highly unlikely.
Speaking to PTI, AIIMS Forensic Chief Dr Sudhir Gupta had said that coronavirus doesn't remain active in nasal and oral cavities 12 to 24 hours after the death of an infected person.
The study was conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine at AIIMS. Around 100 bodies were re-tested for coronavirus infection in an interval of 12 to 24 hours after death and the result was negative, Dr Gupta stated.
For safety purposes, however, the nasal and oral cavities should be plugged to prevent leakage of body fluids or other orifices or punctures resulting from removal of catheter, drains, tubes should be disinfected, he cautioned.
Additionally, he advised that people handling such bodies should wear protective gear such as masks, gloves and PPE kits as a precautionary measure.
There is no risk of transmission of infection from the mortal remains and so collection of bones and ashes is completely safe, he added.
With inputs from agencies