In Thailand, a medical examiner catches the coronavirus that could have been spread from a dead body.
The medical examiner might have come across the infected corpse anytime in March, commented the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine Study.
When the study was published last Sunday, it mentioned that said fatality was one of the first deaths of the COVID-19 disease that was among medical specialists in a Forensic Medicine unit.
This death came as a surprise for the authorities who did not expect a deceased body to harbor live virus.
On March 25, contrary to what happened, the chief of Thailand's Department of Medical Services said that bodies of those who died from COVID-19 were not infectious. Because of the fear of catching the virus, this clarification needs to get issued.
To allow temples to do funerary services for deceased individuals, many morgue technicians were in doubt whether the facilities are enough to process the deceased.
According to health policy expert Summer Johnson McGee of the University of New Haven, handling dead bodies or live patients will avoid getting COVID-19 if they are wearing personal protective equipment (PPEs) to prevent exposure.
More investigations are done by coroners to know how patients have died, and whether they've been tested already. Next is tracing who the deceased has come in contact with to trace possible infections.
Conducting autopsies and checking into the activities of the victims will expose the ones doing them.
Can dead bodies infect?
According Won Sriwijitalai of the RVT Medical Center in Bangkok and Viroj Wiwanitkit of Hainan Medical University in China, further mentions that forensic medicine professionals have fewer chances of getting close to infected live patient.
Although the chances of infection are greater, if these medical professionals are exposed to biological samples and dead people, they need priority and PPEs as well.
On March 10, amongst the COVID-19 patients is a forensic medicine professional and a nurse assistant, who may have been exposed to a corpse carrying the coronavirus.
Authors of the study said, "At present, there is no data on the exact number of COVID-19 contaminated corpses since it is not a routine practice to examine for COVID-19 in dead bodies in Thailand."
Based on the tally of John Hopkins University data, the total number of cases in Thailand is 2,579, it is the second country to be affected by the COVID-19.
To fully proof from the dreadful coronavirus there should be several strict precautions. Forensic professionals need to gear up and wear protective devices including a protective suit, gloves, goggles, cap and mask.
Disinfection procedures used in operating rooms are compatible and applicable to medical personal stationed in pathology/forensic units.
The report on March 25 by Thailand's Department of Medical Services was a mistake and that error has costed a few lives.
John McGee stressed that wearing PPEs is the only way for those working with dead bodies to avoid catching the coronavirus.
The World Health Organization said that "Except in cases of hemorrhagic fevers (such as Ebola, Marburg) and cholera, dead bodies are generally not infectious."
The coronavirus can spread from a dead body. We need to review to assess more risks about the coronavirus.
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