Covid-19 doesn't remain active in nasal, oral cavities 12-24 hours after death: AIIMS forensic chief

Coronavirus doesnt remain active in nasal and oral cavities 12 to 24 hours after the death of an infected person as a result of which the risk of transmission from the deceased is highly unlikely AIIMS Forensic Chief Dr Sudhir Gupta saidA pilot study was conducted over the last one year in the Department of Forensic Medicine at AIIMS on Covid19 positive medicolegal cases which were subjected to postmortemAround 100 bodies were retested for coronavirus infection in an interval of 12 to 24 hours after death and the result was negative The virus does not remain active at all in nasal and oral cavities 24 hours after death Dr Gupta told PTIThe risk of transmission of coronavirus 12 to 24 hours after the death of an infected person is highly unlikely he saidFor safety purposes he said 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 disinfectedAlso as a precautionary measure people handling such bodies should wear protective gear such as masks gloves and PPE kitsCollection of bones and ashes is completely safe as there is no risk of transmission of infection from the mortal remains Gupta saidThe study was conducted in the interest of preserving the dignity of the dead he statedThe ICMR in its standard guidelines for medicolegal autopsy in COVID19 deaths issued in May 2020 advised that invasive techniques should not be adopted for forensic autopsy in Covid19 deaths as mortuary staff are exposed to potentially dangerous health risks due to organ fluids and secretions even after taking the highest precautionsThe waiving of a postmortem will prevent the spread of infection to doctors mortuary staff police persons and all the people involved in the chain of dead body disposalNoninvasive autopsy techniques as described in guidelines should be used if at all required to prevent the risk of spreading the infection to mortuary staff police personnel and contamination of mortuary surfaces the guidelines statedIf the autopsy surgeon feels that he will not be able to conclude cause of death or any other related issue without dissection then he can proceed with minimal invasivelimited internal dissectionHowever the dissection has to be performed keeping in mind that the conduction of autopsy is a highrisk procedure which is potentially as hazardous as any other procedure performed on the body of a Covid19 patient the guidelines said listing the precautions to be followed while conducting an autopsy by adopting proper infection control measures According to the procedure of conducting forensic autopsyrdquoAlong with external examination multiple photographs and verbal autopsy as depicted by WHO The post mortem should be conducted strictly avoiding any invasive surgical procedures and avoiding splashing of body fluids contact for staffs body handlers and doctors conducting post mortemThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever