Last September , in the Italian seaboard province of Chieti , a 41 - yr - quondam Ukrainian man and his admirer operate for a dip in the ocean . Sixteen hour afterwards , he was bushed from overwhelm . A lamentable tale , but no medical enigma . Except for the fact that , for about six full weeks after his destruction , his body tested plus no few than 28 times for COVID-19 – a discovery that the researchers involved say is of “ fundamental importance for pathologists . ”
Even weirder is the fact that , before death , the human race had been “ completely symptomless , ” the squad wrote in a study now published in theBMC Journal of Medical Case Reports , and is likely to have had a pretty low viral load when he died .
This “ reflect[s ] the importance of postmortem swabs in all autopsy case , and not only in potential [ COVID-19]-related death , ” the study mark – and show that pathologists should prove for the front of COVID “ a long clock time after the moment of last , even if a low initial viral load was assessed . ”
Although his death was sustain to be from drown , Italian guidelines required that a COVID test be performed regardless . Once he had been try and an autopsy had been carried out , the consistency was travel to the local morgue , where it was store in a plastered and disinfect waterproof bag at a cool 4 ° C ( 39 ° F ) .
So far , so standard – but a delay in receiving burial mandate meant the body would continue there a little longer than expected . Forty one day , to be exact .
“ Twenty - eight nasopharyngeal swabs were performed on the corpse ” during that time , the face theme excuse , and “ always … by the same squad , adequately prepared and with standardized procedures as per international guidelines and shew protocol . ” That ’s the same type of COVID examination you ’re used to have : a farseeing swab direct up the nose – although hopefully with less sneezing in this case .
Every single trial came back positive – the squad even retested each of them with a reagent outfit from another supplier , just to be sure .
And not only were the COVID viral particles detectable for nigh six hebdomad after death , but by the end of the testing full point they were theonlydetectable particles . See , when researcher test for COVID , they can also run a restraint trial run at the same time to swear that test results really are come up from the sample they require . They do this by prove for human cellular RNA which get swept up with the viral molecule when a swab is taken – if no human RNA is found , then it credibly did n’t come out of a human nose .
But by the time 41 mean solar day had passed , these tests were n’t picking up human RNA any longer . The COVID tests were still coming up positive , but the human cell had become indiscernible .
This is more than just a mildly ghoulish curiosity : the case news report has veridical significance for how stiff are treated in the geezerhood of COVID . As the study authors point out , while we have a lot of undecomposed inquiry about the demeanor of the virus in life bodies and in the environment , “ there is a lack of datum on virus persistence on dead body and on the hazard of contagion from corpse . ” That ’s a problem , as “ execution of … autopsies order various categories of actor ( diagnostician , technicians , and so on ) in contact with a potential source of biologic peril , with implication not only from a health point of view but also from a medicolegal one . ”
Although most COVID transmittal occurs due to large droplet cellular respiration , that ’s not the only potential vector : “ transmittance via contact with polluted body excretion , gentle wind , and faecal – oral route has also been suggested , ” the report observe . While no scientifically - verified data yet has surface ofthe life being infected by the dead , at leastone studyhas usher that corpses can stay infective for up to 35 hr after expiry – authoritative info for those task with the concern and preparation of body before burying or cremation .
While the source mention that their field of study was by its nature confine – ethics committees run to attend unfavorably on efforts toproactively recruit peoplefor post - mortem study – they hope that their finding will goad future research . And as for the Ukrainian serviceman – his burial authorization came through in the end , which , along with what the author draw as “ the putrefacient state of the physical structure , ” finally brought an end to the study .
