To determine how long Ebola virus could remain infectious in a body after death, scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US sampled deceased Ebola-infected monkeys and discovered the virus remained viable for at least seven days.
They also detected non-infectious viral RNA for up to 70 days post-mortem.
The study suggests that Ebola transmission from deceased individuals may be possible for an extended period of time following death, underscoring the importance of using safe practices for handling corpses.
To conduct the study, scientists at NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases tested samples from five deceased macaques used in Ebola virus studies and euthanised after showing signs of disease.
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To assess the stability of the virus post-mortem, the scientists placed the bodies in a chamber to mimic environmental conditions in West Africa.
After the scientists sampled seven different body surfaces and removed tissue from four internal organs, they measured the amount of live Ebola virus and viral RNA, and compared test results at various times.
The scientists believe these findings are likely to be consistent for non-human primates such as gorillas and monkeys.
In fact, they designed the study to test animals found dead in the wild, but shifted the timing and emphasis to human implications related to the ongoing West Africa Ebola outbreak.
The study was published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.