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Postmortem Stability of Ebola Virus

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Thu, 2015-02-12 16:58 — mike kraft

CDC  EID JOURNAL                                              Feb. 12, 2015                                   
Study by Joseph Prescott, Trenton Bushmaker, Robert Fischer, Kerri Miazgowicz, Seth Judson, and Vincent J. Munster

The ongoing Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa has highlighted questions regarding stability of the virus and detection of RNA from corpses. We used Ebola virus–infected macaques to model humans who died of Ebola virus disease.

Assessing the stability of corpse-associated virus and determining the most efficient sampling methods for diagnostics will clarify the safest practices for handling bodies and the best methods for determining whether a person has died of EVD and presents a risk for transmission. To facilitate diagnostic efforts, we studied nonhuman primates who died of EVD to examine stability of the virus within tissues and on body surfaces to determine the potential for transmission, and the presence of viral RNA associated with corpses.

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/21/5/15-0041_article

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
Africa
Guinea
Conakry
Liberia
Sierra Leone
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Contagion
Disease
Health
Research
Science
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Situation Report
Groups this Group Post belongs to: 
Global Health
Guinea Resilience System
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Thu, 2015-02-12 19:27 — mike kraft

NEW YORK TIMES  by Donald G. McNeil, JR.                     Feb. 12, 2015

People who die of Ebola probably remain infectious for at least a week after death, according to a new study.

The findings underscore how important it is to safely handle and bury corpses in the epidemic.

Funerals at which mourners washed or touched bodies are believed to have spread the disease to many new victims. In a safer practice, teams dressed in full protective gear spray the body with bleach, put it in a body bag and then either cremate it or bury it deeply. At the funeral, family members are allowed to view the body but not to touch it.

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the study offered “microbiological proof positive of what we’ve been observing in a field setting — that kissing or washing or caressing bodies is almost certainly the way a lot gets transmitted.”

Read complete story.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/13/health/ebola-victims-still-infectious-a-week-after-death-scientists-find.html

Thu, 2015-02-12 19:53 — Stephen Morse

Thanks so much, great find. I'll have to read and see what’s new.

— Steve

On 2/12/15, 7:27 PM, "Mike Kraft via admin" <admin@m.resiliencesystem.org>
wrote:

>NEW YORK TIMES by Donald G. McNeil,
>JR. Feb. 12, 2015
>
>People who die of Ebola probably remain infectious for at least a week
>after
>death, according to a new study [1].
>
>The findings underscore how important it is to safely handle and bury
>corpses
>in the epidemic.
>
>Funerals at which mourners washed or touched bodies are believed to have
>spread the disease to many new victims. In a safer practice, teams
>dressed in
>full protective gear spray the body with bleach, put it in a body bag and
>then either cremate it or bury it deeply. At the funeral, family members
>are
>allowed to view the body but not to touch it.
>
>Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and
>Infectious Diseases, said the study offered “microbiological proof
>positive
>of what we’ve been observing in a field setting — that kissing or washing
>or caressing bodies is almost certainly the way a lot gets transmitted.”
>
>Read complete story.
>/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/13/health/ebola-victims-still-infectious-a
>-week-after-death-scientists-find.html
>[2]/
>
>=======
>Full post: http://resiliencesystem.org/postmortem-stability-ebola-virus
>Manage my subscriptions: http://resiliencesystem.org/mailinglist
>Stop emails for this post:
>http://resiliencesystem.org/mailinglist/unsubscribe/8460
>
>[1] http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/21/5/15-0041_article
>[2]
>http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/13/health/ebola-victims-still-infectious-a-
>week-after-death-scientists-find.html

howdy folks