Source: New Straits Times
Date: 28.9.2009
KUALA LUMPUR: Care of the dead, especially in stopping the spread of infectious viruses from the deceased, is becoming as important as healthcare, especially in the advent of the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic.
In handling bodies, especially those who have died from dangerous infectious diseases, the onus is on the embalmers to make sure the virus is destroyed in the safest way possible.
They should also take precaution to keep themselves safe from exposure to spores, bacteria and viruses that usually do not die with a person.
Embalmer, funeral director and crematory operator Jeff Chancellor believes that "death care" must include a set of universal precautions, especially when dealing with those who have died from communicable diseases.
"There are many people walking down the streets who are carriers of diseases and they don't know it."
"So, the safest way for us is to treat everyone as if he or she can pose a threat to our health."
Chancellor, who was in Malaysia to give a talk on the subject, said: "Bacteria feed on a dead body and multiply. Viruses, on the other hand, do not multiply but stay in the body. So when we move the body, air sometimes comes out of the lungs and with it, the viruses."
Similarly, when handling the bodies of those who have died of H1N1, the undertaker must take stringent steps not to allow the virus to be released into the room.
He said precautions such as using foot covering, waterproof gown, high-grade non-latex long nitrile gloves, N95 face mask, eye protection and head covering were a must.
"If you come out of a bar, you sometimes find that your hair smells of smoke. Whatever that is in the air is in your hair, similarly, in the embalming room."
He said embalmers had to make sure that the body was disinfected and barriers set in all orifices so that no harmful secretions escaped.
"We have to make sure that the waste we generate is safe before disposing of it."
Chancellor said there should be continual training and information sharing among healthcare practitioners.
"There is an undisputable connection between stress and the immune system. When someone dies in the family, the stress piles up and creates grief and this makes the immune system low.
"So, we need to make sure that there is a comfortable and safe environment for the grieving family to spend time with the deceased," he said during a training session with staff of bereavement care provider Xiao En Centre in Cheras recently.
He said hygiene practices were similar to that of healthcare workers.
"Examine what you are doing because all disinfectants take time to work."
He said there should be standard operating procedures in the embalming room, just like the way airports screened tourists.
Chancellor said Malaysia had these procedures put in place, but mainly in more established funeral homes.
"In death care, we really need to be wearing this kind of armour. We need maximum protection. So these methods must be passed down from bigger establishments to the smaller set-ups."
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