As the bodies of victims of floods in eastern Libya accumulate, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) stress that the bodies themselves are not a public health hazard, while warning that they should be kept away from drinking water sources.

Health risks come more from survivors who may spread the disease, emergency response experts say.

As in the case of floods in Libya or the earthquake in Morocco, natural disasters can leave thousands of victims. When bodies abound, scattered over or floated on the water, they are a terrible scene that often prompts people to rush to bury them.

But haste and poor management of the dead can cause long-term psychological suffering and social and legal problems for the victims' families.

General rule

As a general rule, the remains of victims of natural disasters or wars do not cause epidemics, because people die from injuries, drowning or burns, and are therefore not usually carriers of germs that are likely to cause epidemics, according to the World Health Organization and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. As a result, corpses pose only a "small" health risk.

Of course, it is different for deaths from highly contagious diseases such as cholera, Ebola or Marburg virus, or when a disaster occurs in an area where one of these diseases is endemic.

Pierre Guillarch, head of the ICRC's forensic unit, asserts that "it is more likely that survivors of a natural disaster are the ones who can spread more disease than corpses can."


Protection of water sources

After a disaster, precautions must be taken to protect water sources as they can be contaminated with feces that come out of dead bodies.

There is a risk of diarrhea or other diseases if you drink this contaminated water. Disinfection of water by normal means is sufficient to eliminate dangerous germs.

WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris explains that bodies "are not the main cause of the danger, but everything in the water" such as mud and chemicals.

Avoid hasty burial

Bilal Sablouh, forensic adviser for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Africa, says myths about bodies causing epidemics "often push people to hastily bury the dead and increase the risk that many people will go missing, adding to the suffering of their families for years."

The pressure from such rumours in particular may encourage mass burials that are carried out hastily and rarely in a manner that honors the dead.

"We call on the authorities of communities affected by the tragedy not to rush into mass burials or cremations," said Kazunobu Kojima, biosecurity officer at the World Health Organization's Health Emergencies Programme, according to a joint statement with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

These institutions recommend that the bodies be identified and buried in individual graves with clearly marked marks. It is also important to document and map burial sites to ensure traceability.

Spraying lime powder on corpses is not helpful because it does not accelerate decomposition, and since corpses generally do not pose a risk of transmission, disinfection is not necessary.

A UN report published on Thursday said more than 100,11 bodies in the city of Derna and more than <> in the city of al-Bayda were buried in mass graves after floods hit Libya on September <>.