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Rostock (dpa / mv) - The director of forensic medicine at the University of Rostock, Andreas Büttner, has called for much more frequent autopsies of people who have allegedly died of Covid-19.
Previous studies, including in Rostock, showed that the number of people who actually died from the virus is lower than the official figures suggest, said Büttner of the German press agency.
Only with a higher number of autopsies and reasonable statistics could the population be relieved of fears, which could lead to a reduction in uncertainty.
According to the Rostock study published in the Ärzteblatt Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 17 deceased patients in whom the virus was registered as the cause of death were autopsied in the past few months.
In three of them, the virus could be ruled out as the cause of death.
"You died without a doubt from another cause of death," emphasized Büttner.
For four of them, investigations into the cause of death have not yet been completed, as results of additional investigations are pending.
So far, the virus infection has only been identified as the clear cause of death in ten deceased.
"This confirms the general impression that one dies not only from, but also with the corona virus," said Büttner.
The consequence of this is that not everyone who dies and is Corona-positive should be included in the statistics.
"This is associated with a much higher death rate than it really is."
An additional effect of the forensic medical examinations could be that important clinical data are collected for future therapies.
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During the autopsies, the doctors and assistants would have to comply with special safety precautions, since a possible risk of infection after death has not yet been fully clarified.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210414-99-195855 / 2
Text medical journal