Is it safe to bury corona-infected bodies?

It is well known that there is a controversy regarding the disposal of the bodies of patients who die due to COVID-19. One of the most debated topics is whether burying the body of a patient infected with a deadly virus such as a coronavirus to the world can be detrimental to the survival of humanity. Although people in various fields have expressed various opinions in this regard, they are often seen as arguments contrary to scientific evidence.

All the plagues come into the world from time to time as infections. There is a myth that the burial of dead bodies in such an epidemic is contaminating the soil of cemeteries. If there is such a risk, the deadly and easily infectious diseases such as Ebola, hepatitis C and B transmitted by blood and body fluids, and the bodies of HIV patients will not be buried worldwide (including in developed countries). The main reason for burial is because bacteria and virus cannot live long enough in bodies.

It should be emphasized that microorganisms living in the digestive system has the potential to gradually move out of the buried bodies. Because of this, the body of the bacterium-infected bacterium, such as cholera, is disinfected and placed in a sealed bag.

There are many viruses associated with the digestive system. It is not only infected bodies that have released the virus into the environment. Due to unhygienic disposal and disposal of sewage sludge to proper standards, the virus is likely to be released into the environment on a daily basis. An example is the hepatitis A virus. The virus spreads from one person to another by the passage of viruses associated with the faeces. COVID-19 is a respiratory pathogen that has nothing to do with viruses in the digestive system.

Meanwhile, the burial of a deadly infected virus, such as a coronavirus can contaminate the soil, water, and environment of cemeteries and endanger human life.

COVID-19 is a single-stranded RNA virus with an outer fat covering. These viruses can be destroyed even by simple disinfectants like chlorine. Bleaching powder is the most frequently used at home. Also, 70% alcohol, as well as soap, can break down the fat, leaving the RNA strand and the virus inactivated. Research at various times has found that the coronavirus has a life span of only two days in chlorine-free water and that 99.9% of the virus is inactive for 2 to 4 days in contaminated water. According to the World Health Organization's "Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Waste Management for Covid-19" issued in March 2020, there is no evidence for the existence of COVID-19 virus in terrestrial, groundwater or contaminated water.

But viruses associated with the digestive system are free of outer fat. These viruses have the ability to stay alive and travel for some time in contaminated water. It should be emphasized once again that COVID-19 is a virus associated with the respiratory system and has nothing to do with the digestive system. It only infects a healthy person from an infected infection. The virus can enter the body of a healthy person by inhaling these droplets or through the mucous membranes (nose and eyes). Therefore, the probability that the COVID-19 virus mixes with rivers, streams, streams, and wells across the water source is negligible.

Similarly, these bodies are buried in the body bags after they are properly wrapped and sealed in plastic bags without any leakage. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) says that the bodies of COVID-19 patients are not required to be burned or buried. This is because the virus is transmitted only by spontaneous droplets and is not transmitted by cremation / burial.

There have been approximately 5 million cases of COVID-19 virus worldwide. There are many PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) tests involving urine and faeces samples taken from them. Tests that did so reported that the RNA of the COVID-19 virus was found there. But just because a PCR test shows a virus, it does not mean that it is an active virus. This is because dead inactivated viruses also show up in the faeces. The purpose of this test is to determine if the virus is alive and excreted through the digestive tract and whether the RNA of the virus can survive. Investigations into the 5 million infected patients have also failed to confirm the transmission of the virus by other means (food or water) to the virus in the urine and faeces.

If there is a risk of spreading the virus, oral hygiene and avoidance of raw food, pathologists should set a separate food chain around the epidemic, and dispose of the contaminants in places where the virus is infected. But none of the above has been incorporated into any local or international guide and has only proven to be an assumption

Although the COVID-19 virus, by contrast, SARS virus is not properly managed, the probability of infection is confirmed by examining a few of the total 8,000 infected patients. But those test reports cannot be compared with COVID-19. Because both COVID-19 and SARS viruses belong to the coronavirus group, there are many differences. However, the claim that these diseases are transmitted through groundwater is a false claim.

The release of chemical ions and compounds into the environment is a common process in decaying bodies. This does not apply only to COVID-19 bodies.

Another misconception has been established that the virus has been scientifically proven that it can be transmitted to water sources and leaked into wells. It must be understood that, unlike bacteria, a living cell is required for viruses to proliferate. With the death of the dead body, oxygen is depleted in the body's cells, enzymes in the cells of the body undergo self-digestion. Then the virus stops spreading due to the loss of the favourable environment for the virus to spread.

One may question, therefore, whether the virus is transmitted by surface viruses. According to the current survey data, the virus is usually live for 3 hours on copper surfaces, 24 hours on cardboard surfaces, and 2 to 3 days on plastic or metal surfaces. So somehow the microorganisms stay in the soil but eventually get lost due to lack of proper nutrients. The virus is also destroyed by environmental conditions such as sunlight, temperature, acidity and soil contamination in the soil. The bodies are also subjected to proper disinfection before cremation or burial.

If you are reading this, you can determine the likelihood that the virus will leak from the sealed carcasses, enter the water, live in the water, and can spread the virus through water that the surrounding community consumes.

The risk of developing COVID-19 is higher with the presence of the virus in living people. Health workers who manage these bodies are also at risk. Therefore, there are a number of recommended Infection Prevention and Control Measures to follow from COVID-19 to the site of death. The criteria for all matters, including sterilization of the body of the deceased, handling of the body, and the wearing of personal protective equipment.

Guidelines issued by organizations such as the World Health Organization, the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, the United States, Iran or India do not state that only cremation is required. In China, cremation is referred to as cremation rather than scientific reason. It is simply a management strategy and there is no scientific basis.

The RNA virus, COVID-19, is highly sensitive to ammonia released during decomposition. Similarly, heat is produced during digestion of the bodies, there is an increase in the temperature of the body and an increase of the soil alkalinity. All these factors adversely affect the life span of the virus. Therefore, considering the life span of the virus and the infection control methods used before burial, there is no possibility of the virus being alive for many years.

At diagnosis, samples taken from patients are kept at a temperature of 2-8 ° C, and if the samples are not transported to another location within 48 hours, it should be kept at -70 ° C. There is also research evidence that virus samples stored at ambient temperature cannot be planted in laboratory-appropriate media. The problem, then, is whether the virus lasts for 14 days on surfaces exposed to ambient temperatures, such as eating salads.

The body is usually buried according to proper standards. According to the World Health Organization guidelines, this should be buried within 30 to 50 meters from some water source. A cemetery is usually permitted only after the completion of such criteria. Also, the depth of the pit should be 6 to 8 feet and the bottom of the pit should be 1.5 meters above ground level.

Surveys of cemeteries and water sources in Australia, Brazil and the United States confirmed that the organic matter in the body is leached but not contaminated to the water sources with infected bacteria such as coliform. It has also been observed that the leakage of these wastes gradually decreased with increasing distance between the cemetery and water sources.

There are also false claims in the community that the virus is mutated after burial. Most viruses are mutated from time to time to create more environmentally friendly variants. The influenza virus is a classic example of this. These mutations occur during the virus proliferation process. There is no virus proliferation in the body. Because the virus needs a living cell to proliferate. Mutations, therefore, occur in the living human body or the animal, not in the dead bodies.

There is no scientific background to consider that one method is superior to the other, except that COVID19's burial or cremation is purely cultural. It is up to you and me to look at death in a world where thousands of people are dying prematurely. This is not a decision to go to hell or to heaven but to honour that person at the last moment.