After disasters with extensive loss of life, much resource is often expended on burying the dead quickly, and applying disinfectant to bodies, to prevent diseases from speading. In Western culture, skeletons are often the symbol of death. ... Disinfection The destruction of pathogenic and other kinds of microorganisms by physical or chemical means Disinfectants are chemical substances used to kill viruses and microbes (germs), such as bacteria and fungi. ... A disease is any abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person affected or those in contact with the person. ...

According to health professionals the fear of bodies spreading disease is not justified. Amongst others, Steven Rottman, director of the UCLA Center for Public Health and Disasters, said that no scientific evidence existed that bodies of disaster victims increased the risk of epidemics, adding that cadavers in fact posed less risk of contagion than living people. The University of California, Los Angeles, popularly known as UCLA, is a public, coeducational university situated in the neighborhood of Westwood within the city of Los Angeles. ...

In disasters where there is competition for resources, more effort should be spent caring for survivors (improving sanitation, providing clean water or facilities for boiling or otherwise disinfecting water, providing food, clothing and shelter), and less disinfecting and disposing urgently of the dead. Religious and cultural practices, the stench, and the effect on morale must of course also be taken into consideration. Sanitation is a term for the hygienic disposal or recycling of waste materials, particularly human excrement. ... Disinfectant redirects here. ...

The incorrect notion that dead bodies inherently spread diseases is probably a combination of (a) the incorrect miasma theory of disease: diseases are spread by foul air — you get malaria from breathing marsh air, cholera from breathing foul air from untreated sewage, and diseases from the stench of decomposing corpses; and (b) the true fact that corpses of those who died from certain contagious diseases do, indeed, spread disease. A disease is any abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person affected or those in contact with the person. ... The miasma theory of disease held that diseases such as cholera were caused by a miasma (Greek language: pollution), a noxious form of bad air. The miasma theory was consistent with the observations that: disease was associated with poor sanitation (and hence foul odours) and that sanitary improvements reduced disease... Memorial to Sir Joseph Bazalgette on Victoria Embankment Sir Joseph William Bazalgette (28 March 1819 – 15 March 1891) was one of the great Victorian civil engineers. ... Red blood cell infected with Malaria (Italian: bad air; formerly called ague or marsh fever in English) is an infectious disease which in humans causes about 350-500 million infections and approximately 1. ... }} Distribution of cholera Cholera (also called Asiatic cholera) is an infectious disease of the gastrointestinal tract caused by the Vibrio cholerae bacterium. ... Sewage is domestic, municipal, or industrial liquid waste products. ... A disease is any abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person affected or those in contact with the person. ...

While, of course, research and evidence must override any commonsensical arguments, there is not even any logical reason for non-diseased corpses to spread disease: micro-organisms do not come into being by spontaneous generation, any more than flies are generated spontaneously by rotting rubbish, rather than hatching eggs. Disease micro-organisms are not the same as those causing decay. A microorganism or microbe is an organism that is so small that it is microscopic (invisible to the naked eye). ... Abiogenesis, in its most general sense, is the hypothetical generation of life from non-living matter. ...

External links

Detailed information is to be found in the following documents:

• Infectious Disease Risks… Following Natural Disasters
• WHO guidelines on hygiene precautions when dealing with disposal of remains
• Health and safety information related to water purification, disease prevention, and management of dead bodies

See also:

• CNN — WHO: Corpses pose little threat
• Slate — Are Dead Bodies Dangerous?
• Mass burials do more harm than good-experts