Massive publicity of
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) has inflamed human psyche and emotions. Our
existence on this planet is ever since our conception though we celebrate our
physical birth days. Human form of life is said to be the best of 2.1 million
(2.1x10
6) living species born through placenta. We have been better
than other living creatures due to possession of superior mind, memory,
intellect and emotions. We have social bonding with our family and friends.
Coronavirus Disease (
COVID-19) has taken the shape of a pandemic due to
human to human spread of its causative agent. The Chinese authorities isolated this
new type of coronavirus from patients of outbreak of
pneumonia in December-2019, in
Wuhan City
of
Hubei Province of
China during laboratory investigations on 7
th January 2020 and
named it
2019-nCoV.
Symptoms of COVID-19 are like
influenza and include fever, headache, shivering (rigors), myalgia, malaise,
cough and sometimes diarrhea also. In elderly and immunocompromised patients, it
is causing severe respiratory distress due to pneumonia and causing death due
to comorbidities in-spite of best treatment. Lack of immuno-prophylaxis is the
cause of casualties as vaccines for this disease are not available. However,
precautionary measures are in force to avoid catching
nCoV infection. Personal hygiene, washing of hands frequently with soap and
water, wearing of face mask and maintaining physical distance (social distance)
from other individuals are the ways to save ourselves from
COVID-19. Human to human spread of the disease is through micro-droplets of nasal
secretions of infected person.
Need of the hour is to take
necessary precautions to avoid catching
nCoV infection.
COVID-19 could be fatal in 2-3% patients only. Just being positive for
2019-nCoV by
RT-PCR does not warrant any panic. Viral infections
are self-curing in 95-97 cases with symptomatic treatment. Only 3 to 5% cases
would need hospitalization. Imposition of stricter control measures by administration
to avoid community transmission of
COVID-19 has spread great scare of death in the
minds of entire population. People have been avoiding receiving the bodies of
their near and dear ones, who unfortunately died of
COVID-19 complications.
Let me instill confidence in you that
the dead would never spread any infection if bodies are
embalmed. We need to maintain social distancing from the living persons and not
from the dead. Dead are not exhaling any infectious droplets. Dead need our
love and care for proper send off from this world. We could take necessary
precautions to sanitize and
temporarily
preserve the bodies of our near and
dear ones who unfortunately bid goodbye to us due to
COVID-19 complications. Medical colleges and Medical Research Institutes have been
embalming and preserving dead bodies for very long periods for dissection and
demonstration to medical students. The
history of embalming dates-back
to 4000 BC. Egyptians were the first to master the methods of embalming. Why
can’t we do
embalming of dead bodies before handing over to the
relatives?
Provincial governments all over the
world should issue advisories to all the hospitals to essentially do
hypodermic and
surface embalming of dead bodies before handing over to relatives
and friends of the diseased.
Embalming
would ensure safe transportation of
the dead body for cremation without any risk of infection.
Pathologists and
Anatomists should be assigned the task of onsite
embalming even if the death occurs at home. Dead bodied of
army warriors are always preserved by
Arterial
embalming along with coloring and
masking agents before transportation to native places of martyrs.
We have experienced that face mask
and alcoholic sanitizers have potential to keep away any infection.
Sodium hypochlorite at a concentration of 0.04% in tap water can
kill bacteria, fungi and all the viruses including
coronavirus. The bleach we
use for fabric bleaching at home, contains
4% Sodium hypochlorite (see
Figure-1).
Sodium hypochlorite at a concentration of 0.04% in tap water is sprayed
to sanitize roads and buildings in
Containment Zones. One cap full (10 ml) of
fabric bleach in 1000 ml (1 L) of tap water gives 0.04%
Sodium hypochlorite solution. This solution could be used to sanitize
dead body before short distance transportation. Dead body could be wrapped in a
bed sheet soaked in 0.04% solution of
Sodium hypochlorite. Body could
be given bath of this solution.
 |
| Figure-1 |
We trust that eye/ear drops containing
just 0.01% (w/v)
Benzalkonium Chloride are free of any infectious agents and could
be instilled in eyes or ears (see Figure-2). People can use solution of
Benzalkonium Chloride at the universally accepted concentration
(0.01% w/v) to surface sanitize dead bodies of their dear ones without any risk of infection. We mop our floors with
germicide
Lyzol which contains very high percentage
of
Benzalkonium Chloride (2.4580% w/w: see Figure-3). Just one cap full
(15 ml) of
Lyzol (500 ml Pack) in 4000 ml (4L) of tap water
would give 0.01% solution of
Benzalkonium
Chloride which could be used for
surface sanitization of the dead body. Dead body could be wrapped in a bed
sheet soaked in the solution of
Lyzol
at optimum concentration as cited above.
 |
Figure-2
|
 |
| Figure-3 |
All relatives and friends of
a diseased person should be provided counselling for handling the dead body.
People should be educated and encouraged to accept the dead bodies of their
loved ones without any fear of infection. Any disrespect to the corpse (dead
body) invites applicability of section 297 IPC in India and similar laws must
be available in other countries too. Section 297 IPC or similar sections should
be invoked both for hospitals and people to show respect to the dead. I would
like to appeal to World Health Organization (WHO) for issuing necessary advisory to all the
countries to take necessary steps for embalming of the dead bodies during the pandemic for safe
transportation for funeral.
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