Transcript DB_PP_Disposal of Dead Bodies

WASH Cluster – Emergency Training
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Disposal of Dead Bodies
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Introduction and
Objective Setting
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Overall Objective
• To put the issue of dead bodies into a
public health perspective (including
psycho-social aspects) and understand
the basics of managing dead bodies in the
first phase following a disaster.
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Specific Objectives
• Describe the relative importance of dead
bodies in an emergency (health risks to the
public and those handling the dead)
• Develop an action plan to manage dead bodies
in a practical sense following a disaster
• List 3 extra precautions needed in dealing with
those who have died from a highly infectious
disease such as cholera or Ebola.
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Public Health Importance
of Dead Bodies?
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General Discussion
• Question to group
• Is the disposal of the dead a major public
health priority in the aftermath of a
disaster?
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General Discussion
• “Dead bodies do not cause epidemics…”
• Source: PAHO et al, Management of Dead Bodies after Disasters: A
field manual for first responders, 2006
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General Discussion
• Question to group
• Having established that in general dead
bodies do not pose a major physical
public health risk what are the
implications of action or inaction with
regard to mental health?
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General Discussion
• “Burials in common graves and mass
cremations are rarely warranted and
should be avoided”
• Source: Dispoal of Dead Bodies in emergency conditions
WHO, Technical Note No.8, Draft revised 7.1.05
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General Discussion
• Question to group
• If you have responsibility for the
collection of corpses following an
earthquake what are the infectious
disease risks for those staff (body
handlers) employed to undertake this
task?
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Infectious Disease Risks
Risk to body handlers
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Hepatitis B and C
HIV
Tuberculosis
Diarrhoeal disease
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Group Work
• Group to be divided into groups of four
people to address the following scenario.
• 20 mins to review the scenario and
develop an action plan
• 10 mins thereafter to present back.
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Group Work
• An earthquake has struck a large city in a part
of South East Asia at the height of the hot
season. The majority of the population are
Christian. Approximately 20,000 people have
died as a direct result of the earthquake.
• Your agency has been delegated to address the
issue of dead bodies.
• Describe what you would do in this situation?
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Group Work
• Issues that you should have addressed include:•
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Body Recovery
Storage of Dead Bodies
Identification of Dead Bodies
Information Management
Disposal
Communications and the Media
Support to Families and Relatives
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Protecting Staff
Key aspects to protecting staff
• Provide personal protective equipment; heavy
duty gloves and boots
• Hand washing facilities with soap
and water for after handling
dead bodies,
• First aid available for team
members and tetanus
vaccination for workers without
vaccination cover.
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Disposal
• Question to group
• What is the preferred method of disposal
for dead bodies?
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Burial Sites
• Question to group
• What are the criteria to consider in the
selection of an appropriate burial site?
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“Infectious Dead”
• Question to group
• What special precautions would you consider
necessary in dealing with those who have died
from a highly infectious disease such as
cholera?
• Example - Goma, Zaire now DRC, July 1994:
Over 45,000 people died over a 3 week period
from cholera and over 90% of those died outside
a health facility.
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Infectious Dead
• Extra precautions might include:• Extra personal protective equipment
• The use of body bags at all times
• The disinfection of the body with a 2%
chlorine solution
• Immediate burial
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Management of Dead Bodies
Key recommendations
1. Give priority to the living (e.g. provide sanitation
facilities for the survivors first)
2. Promote the identification and tagging of corpses
3. Provide accurate information concerning the risks
associated with corpses
4. Do not promote mass burial of unidentified bodies in
large graves
5. Conserve fuel and resources
6. Respect the wishes and social customs of the families
Source: Emergency Sanitation, WEDC, 2002
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Have Objectives been met?
• To understand the relative importance of dead
bodies in an emergency (health risks to the
public and those handling the dead)
• To understand how to manage dead bodies in a
practical sense following a disaster
• To understand the extra precautions needed in
dealing with those who have died from a highly
infectious disease such as cholera or ebola.
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Have Objectives been met?
• To put the issue of dead bodies into a
public health perspective (including
psycho-social aspects) and understand
the basics of managing dead bodies in the
first phase following a disaster.
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Key References
• Davis, Jan., and Lambert, Robert., Engineering in
Emergencies, A practical guide for relief workers. 2nd
Edition, RedR/IT, 2002 (Pg 182-183)
• Disposal of Dead Bodies in emergency conditions, WHO,
Technical Note No. 8 Draft Revised 7.1.05
• PAHO et al, Management of Dead Bodies after Disasters:
A field manual for first responders, 2006
• MSF, Infection Control in Health Care Settings, First Edition, 2006.
• Harvey, Peter., Baghri, Sohrab., and Reed, Bob., Emergency Sanitation,
Assessment and Programme Design, WEDC, Loughborough University 2002
• UNHCR, Handbook for Emergencies, Third Edition, February 2007. (Pg 277)
• Davis, Jan., and Lambert, Robert., Engineering in Emergencies, A practical
guide for relief workers. 2nd Edition, RedR/IT, 2002 (Pg 182-183)
• Disposal of Dead Bodies in emergency conditions, WHO, Technical Note No. 8
Draft Revised 7.1.05
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