Dealing with Ebola Contaminated Deceased Bodies
Dealing with the deceased who are contaminated with Ebola presents a range of challenges. Winner of the Big Ideas Award from the University of Warwick, Flexmort provides a range of mortuary solutions for the safe handling and storage of contaminated deceased which are all in widespread use by NHS hospitals, councils, governments and the police across the world.
Dealing with Ebola
There are 4 main issues to consider when dealing with Ebola:
- Sealing the deceased inside an air tight body bag
- Absorbing body fluids
- Cooling the deceased
- Manual handling of the deceased
The UK guidance in this area can be found in the Management of Hazard Group 4 viral haemorrhagic fevers and similar human infectious diseases of high consequence by the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (Sept 2014).
For dealing with the deceased, this guidance (p.81 & p.82) talks of the use of a “leak proof body bag” and states staff “should place the body in a double body bag. Absorbent material should be placed between each bag” and “then placed in a robust coffin, which will need to have sealed joints. It should then be kept, by special prior arrangement with mortuary staff, in a separate and identified cold store unit to await prompt cremation or burial”.
Containing Ebola Infected Deceased
Standard body bags are simply not capable of preventing the spread of infections such as Ebola, they can often leak which produces a significant infection risk.
Used by hospitals, funeral directors and local authorities, our CadSeal repatriation foil meets and exceeds the UK guidance for the containment of Ebola infected deceased by hermetically sealing the deceased. Ideal for handling infected and decomposing bodies, CadSeal creates an airtight seal around bodies, reduces the risk to staff and stops odours escaping. CadSeal also eliminates the need for “double bagging” and the use of a “robust coffin”.
The TC body bag is a translucent, self-sealing containment device for the deceased and of particularly use when the deceased has begun to deteriorate or where there is a risk of pathogens escaping. Each pouch can be adapted to fit any size of remains and then stored, shipped or cremated.
Absorbing Body Fluids
To reduce the amount of body fluid within body bags, the CadPad absorbent pad is recommended. Perfect for absorbing fluids and cleaning up any other spills, the pads are highly absorbent and can absorb a considerable amount of body fluids without dripping.
Unlike traditional absorbent pads, the fluid is locked away inside the CadPad and does not leak or drip even under pressure. Furthermore, the core material used in CadPad is scientifically proven to reduce bacteria as the system removes the water which bacteria require to proliferate. As such, CadPad is perfect for absorbing the body fluids of deceased infected with Ebola as the virus remains locked away.
Storing Ebola Infected Deceased
For Ebola, we recommend storing the contaminated deceased in mobile pop up mortuary systems, such as the AirCool and the mortuary dome.
AirCool is a mobile storage system which acts as a pop up mortuary and is highly portable. The mobile mortuary is fast to set up and used for additional temporary body storage. It is in use at mass fatality sites and hospitals, and by funeral directors.
The mobile mortuary dome uses captive air technology and is the most simple, effective system to provide temporary refrigerated space for body storage for mass fatality situations from a relatively small transit pack. The mobile morgue is 7 meters by 6 meters and can be used to store up to 56 deceased.
