People who perished when tropical storm Jeanne struck Haiti last month should not be buried in mass graves, health officials say. It is unnecessary for public health, and will only add to survivors鈥� distress.
In the city of Gonaives more than 1500 bodies have been buried in large pits because this was thought necessary to prevent the spread of disease.
But the Pan American Health Organization has issued a statement insisting that the bodies do not pose any major disease risks. 鈥淭here is no scientific evidence that bodies cause epidemics,鈥� says Jean Luc Poncelet, head of disaster relief at PAHO.
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Pathogens generally die quickly as bodies cool and decompose. People handling corpses might be at risk, but they can be protected through simple precautions such as bags to hold the bodies and gloves for the workers. Nobody else is at risk unless the water supply becomes contaminated by the corpses. 鈥淚t is often more important to provide clean drinking water than to dispose of bodies,鈥� says Poncelet.
Survivors鈥� grief is likely to be intensified if they are denied the chance to formally identify their friends and relatives, according to PAHO. It recommended that if unidentified bodies had to be buried, they should be laid side by side in trenches, with numbered markers corresponding to any objects taken from the remains. 鈥淲ith modern technology a body can be identified 20 years later,鈥� Poncelet adds.