Coronavirus can spread from corpses, scientists report

Family members and healthcare workers should take precautions, experts say.

Like a zombie in a horror movie, the coronavirus can linger in the bodies of infected patients long after death, and even spread to others, according to two startling studies.

The risk of contagion is primarily to those handling cadavers, such as pathologists, medical examiners, and healthcare workers, and in settings such as hospitals and nursing homes, where many deaths may occur.

While transmission from dead bodies is not likely to be a major factor in the pandemic, bereaved family members should exercise caution, experts said.

"In some countries, people deceased from Covid-19 are left unattended or taken home,” said Hisako Saitoh, a researcher at Chiba University in Japan, who has published two recent studies on the phenomenon.

"Therefore, I believe this is knowledge that the general public should know," he wrote in an email.

The research has not yet been approved for publication in a scientific journal, but external experts said the studies were well done and the results compelling.

The risk of spread from a living coronavirus patient is far greater than potential transmission from cadavers, Dr. Saitoh and other scientists have pointed out.

If infection from cadavers accounted for a large number of cases, "we would've noticed, wouldn't we?" said Vincent Munster, a virologist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

However, "if there is a virus infected ux, there is always a risk of transmission," he continued. "I don't think it's something that's discussed often."

In the United States, bodies are usually embalmed soon after death or cremated. But in the Netherlands, where Dr. Munster grew up, as in many parts of the world, family members can wash and dress the bodies.

In July 2020, the Japanese government urged bereaved family members to keep their distance from the dead bodies and refrain from touching them – or even looking at them. Authorities also recommended sealing dead bodies in waterproof bags and cremating them within 24 hours.

The guidelines were revised in May 2022 to allow members to the family to see loved ones who have died of Covid, but "in a hospital room that is appropriately controlled for infection".

These guidelines have in part prompted Dr. Saitoh to explore what happens to the virus in the body after death.

He and his colleagues examined nose and lung samples from 11 people who died from Covid. The researchers found that large amounts of virus persisted in six of the 11 corpses, even 13 days after death.

"It was surprising that the infectious titers were preserved at the same high levels as in clinical patients," wrote Dr. Saitoh. "What was most surprising, however, were the results of the animal experiments."

In these experiments, he and his colleagues discovered that hamsters that died a few days after being infected with the coronavirus could transmit it to other animals...