ArticleForensic science, medicine, and pathology2021
The handling of SARS-CoV-2 associated deaths - infectivity of the body.
Article in Forensic science, medicine, and pathology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- SARS-CoV-2 persistence and infectivity in COVID-19 corpses: a systematic review.Forensic science, medicine, and pathology · 2023Pooled it
- Disposal of unclaimed remains in Chinese medical institutions: power-responsibility conflicts, standardization deficits, and legal regulation.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Death and dying during the COVID-19-pandemic - A qualitative evaluation of stress factors for nursing staff.Palliative care and social practice · 2025Article
- Pilot study in Hamburg on the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infections and pandemic survey in the German funeral industry.Forensic science, medicine, and pathology · 2024Article
- The response to COVID-19 in Timor-Leste: lessons learnt.BMJ global health · 2023Article
- Evaluation of awareness and performance towards COVID-related disinfectant use among the university communities in Lebanon.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Minimally Invasive Tissue Sampling via Post Mortem Ultrasound: A Feasible Tool (Not Only) in Infectious Diseases-A Case Report.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Risk of occupational infection in forensic workers: a review.Forensic sciences research · 2023Review
- Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the workplace: Key findings from a rapid review of the literature.Aerosol science and technology : the journal of the American Association for Aerosol Research · 2023Article
- Viable SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sub-variants isolated from autopsy tissues.Frontiers in microbiology · 2023Article
- Prevention of COVID-19 transmission from deceased subject: A critical point of view.Journal of global health · 2022Article
- SARS-CoV-2 viral load and replication in postmortem examinations.International journal of legal medicine · 2022Article
- Postmortem Antigen-Detecting Rapid Diagnostic Tests to Predict Infectivity of SARS-CoV-2-Associated Deaths.Emerging infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Postmortem Stability of SARS-CoV-2 in Mouse Lung Tissue.Emerging infectious diseases · 2021Article
- Detection and infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 in exhumated corpses.International journal of legal medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The body of a deceased with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is considered infectious. In this study, we present the results of infectivity testing of the body and testing of mortuary staff for SARS-CoV-2. We performed real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) for SARS-CoV-2 on 33 decedents with ante mortem confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Swabs of the body surface from five different body regions and from the body bag or coffin were examined. A subset of the swabs was brought into cell culture. In addition, screening of 25 Institute of Legal Medicine (ILM) personnel for ongoing or past SARS-CoV-2 infection was performed at two different time points during the pandemic. Swabs from all locations of the body surface and the body environment were negative in cases of negative post mortem nasopharyngeal testing (n=9). When the post mortem nasopharyngeal swab tested positive (n=24), between 0 and 5 of the body surface swabs were also positive, primarily the perioral region. In six of the cases, the body bag also yielded a positive result. The longest postmortem interval with positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR at the body surface was nine days. In no case viable SARS-CoV-2 was found on the skin of the bodies or the body bags. One employee (autopsy technician) had possible occupational infection with SARS-CoV-2; all other employees were tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 RNA or antibody twice. Our data indicate that with adequate management of general safety precautions, transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through autopsies and handling of bodies is unlikely.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.