The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO),
in conjunction with the World Health Organisation (WHO), the International
Committee of the Red Cross, and the International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies, has published a new field manual
that provides step-by-step guidance on how to recover and identify
victims killed in disasters while respecting the needs and rights of
survivors.
Management of Dead Bodies after Disasters: A Field Manual for First
Responders is aimed at facilitating proper identification of victims
and preventing mass burials and cremations. The book dispels the widely
held misconception that dead bodies pose a serious health threat in
the aftermath of disasters.
" After most natural disasters, there is a fear that dead
bodies will cause epidemics," said Oliver Morgan, an
honorary research fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine
and one
of the book's three co-editors.
" This belief is wrong-most
infectious organisms do not survive beyond 48 hours in a dead body,
and it is
the surviving population that is more likely to spread disease. But
authorities often feel political pressure to resort to unnecessary
measures such as hasty mass burials."
Such practices can add to the mental suffering of victims' families
and can lead to legal and other long-term difficulties by preventing
proper identification of bodies.
" The way victims are treated has a profound and long-lasting
effect on the mental health of survivors and communities," said
PAHO Director Mirta Roses in the book's foreword.
" In addition,
correct identification of the dead has legal significance for inheritance
and insurance that can impact on families and relatives for many
years after a disaster."
The job of managing dead bodies after a disaster, particularly in
developing countries, usually falls to local organizations and communities
rather than specialized teams of national and international experts.
To reach this audience, the new field manual was written in plain language,
with practical recommendations on how to accomplish key tasks. The
book is available for download from the PAHO website at http://www.paho.org/english/dd/ped/DeadBodiesFieldManual.htm.
Among central points emphasized in the manual are:
- The overwhelming desire of people from all religions and cultures
is to identify their loved ones. Careful and ethical management of
dead bodies is a critical component of disaster recovery.
- Dead bodies
pose a negligible threat to public health, since most victims die
from injury, drowning or fire. Responders who handle dead
bodies should wear gloves and practice good basic hygiene. Wearing
face-masks is not necessary for infection control purposes but may
help workers feel psychologically better. Bodies present virtually
no risk of epidemic diseases.
- Sooner is better for victim identification.
The early work of non-specialists will determine much of the success
of forensic specialists when they
arrive. First responders should collect basic information about the
deceased and take photographs before storing bodies for later forensic
identification. Visual identification or photographs of fresh bodies
are the simplest forms of identification.
- Bodies should be stored
at cold temperatures, either in refrigerated containers or buried
temporarily in organized graves. Within 12 to
48 hours in hot climates, decomposition will be too advanced to allow
facial recognition.
- Accurate, timely, and updated information can
reduce stress on survivors, defuse rumours, and dispel misconceptions.
The news media are vital
channels of communication with the public, and authorities should
proactively engage them.
Chapters in the book cover provide practical information and guidance
on topics including the true health risks posed by dead bodies, how
to recover bodies, how to store them, methods for identification, long-term
storage and disposal, communications and the media, and support to
families and relatives. The book also provides practical annexes, including
a Dead Body Identification Form, a Missing Persons Form, and a chart
of sequential numbers for unique referencing of bodies.
" In many contexts around the world, when disaster strikes,
those who are first on the scene often require simple and practical
guidance
to recover and manage the dead in a way that respects the right of
families to know the fate of their missing relatives and to mourn their
dead,"
said Dr. Morris Tidball-Binz, forensic coordinator
at the ICRC and co-editor of the book.
" Also, if these guidelines
are followed, the work of forensic specialists, when they do arrive,
will
be made easier to help identify the dead."
News
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or activity. The views stated in the article above are not necessarily
those of IvyRose Ltd.. Material in this news item was released
by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on 12 April
2006. For further information, please visit their
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