Sunday, November 28, 2010

How long can the HIV/AIDS virus live in a dead human body without embalming and after embalming

How long can the HIV/AIDS virus live in a dead human body without embalming and after embalming?
This is a two part question Part 1 with no preservation Part 2 after embalming Thanks
STDs - 2 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Viruses are not alive. They are nucleic acid, RNA or DNA, with a protein coat with the ability to infect cells and replicate. A virus possess no metabolism and has no function on its own so it can not "die". If your question was "how long will a [virus in question] remain intact and infectious in [insert scenario]? The answer anyone could give would be highly speculative. In the case of HIV, no one knows as it is impossible to detect actual virus even in a living person. It is postulated that HIV can not live outside the body for more than a a few seconds to maybe minutes nor will it still be infectious in dried fluids. If a corpse is still "wet" there are pathogens that could still be infectious during necropsy and embalming however. Embalming fluids are generally germicides and will inactivate viruses as well. However, using fixatives (like formaldehyde) may actually preserve intact viral particles. In the practice of modern embalming, the embalming fluid is pumped in the carotid artery while blood is drained from the jugular vein. Although blood may pose a pathogenic hazard during this stage of embalming, it is impossible to adequately answer either of your questions about HIVs postmortem infectivity with any certainty. Supposedly scientists can show a reactive ELISA from a corpse up to 16 days postmortem but occupational exposure to HIV is extremely extremely rare in such a scenario.
2 :
As a funeral director / embalmer, I have studied this well. Here is what I have come up with: Studies have shown that HIV is inactivated rapidly after being exposed to commonly used chemical germicides at concentrations that are much lower than used in practice. Embalming fluids are similar to the types of chemical germicides that have been tested and found to completely inactivate HIV. No one knows exactly how long HIV will remain viable in the blood and tissues after an HIV-infected person dies. To find this answer, the exact time of death would have to be noted and then timed sampling of the deceased's blood would have to be performed. In addition, amounts of virus circulating in the blood vary. All blood, even that in corpses, should be considered potentially infectious; and all workers involved with preparation of the body (e.g., morticians, embalmers) should use universal precautions.

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