Though the only two Americans with confirmed cases of Ebola have been discharged from the hospital healthy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidance for safe handling of human remains of Ebola patients for U.S. hospitals and mortuaries.
The Ebola virus can be transmitted postmortem through a variety of ways, including, direct handing of human remains without appropriate personal protective equipment and splashes of blood or other body fluids.
For hospitals, the following CDC guidance is relevant:
- Only personnel wearing personal protective equipment and trained in handling infected human remains should touch or move any Ebola-infected remains
- Postmortem care personnel must wear the following PPE: surgical scrub suit, surgical cap, impervious gown with full sleeve coverage, eye protection, facemask, shoe covers, double surgical gloves
- PPE should be in place before contact with the body
- Keep handling of human remains to a minimum
- Autopsies of patients who die of Ebola should be avoided
View the full recommendations here.
The current Ebola outbreak in West Africa has claimed more than 1,400 lives from March through Aug. 22, according to the CDC.