{"id":80973,"date":"2026-05-19T21:07:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T04:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=80973"},"modified":"2026-05-19T21:07:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T04:07:34","slug":"ebola-is-extremely-dangerous-even-after-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=80973","title":{"rendered":"Ebola Is Extremely Dangerous Even After Death"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_author tdi_68 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_68\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span><a class=\"tdb-author-name\" href=\"https:\/\/americancommunitymedia.org\/author\/sunita\/\">Sunita Sohrabji<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_date tdi_69 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_69\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><i class=\"tdb-date-icon tdc-font-fa tdc-font-fa-calendar\"><\/i><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-18T19:56:22-07:00\">May 18, 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_subtitle tdi_70 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_70\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Traditional burial practices allow the living Ebola virus to be passed along to caretakers of the deceased body. The Ebola virus can remain infectious for up to 7 days in a dead body.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_featured_image tdi_71 tdb-content-horiz-left td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_71\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"entry-thumb td-animation-stack-type0-2\" title=\"Ebola DRC World Bank\" src=\"https:\/\/americancommunitymedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ebola-DRC-World-Bank-e1779159119815.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" \/><figcaption class=\"tdb-caption-text\">A health care worker monitors an Ebola patient in the DRC. (Vincent Tremeau\/World Bank photo\/Creative Commons license)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_72 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_72\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>The Ebola virus is extremely dangerous and transmissible even after an infected person has died.<\/p>\n<p>The World Health Organization May 17\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news\/item\/17-05-2026-epidemic-of-ebola-disease-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-and-uganda-determined-a-public-health-emergency-of-international-concern\">announced<\/a>\u00a0a major outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The WHO has characterized the outbreak as a \u201cpandemic emergency.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As of May 16, 8 laboratory-confirmed cases, 246 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths have been reported in Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo across at least three health zones, including Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu, notes the WHO.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=AmCommMedia&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2056563483454632125&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Famericancommunitymedia.org%2Fnews-exchange%2Febola-is-extremely-dangerous-even-after-death%2F&amp;sessionId=ab2ffd88c4b7c5f8f750e74fac47512ecc2b186f&amp;siteScreenName=AmCommMedia&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"2056563483454632125\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Additionally, 2 laboratory confirmed cases (including one death) have been reported in Kampala, Uganda, within 24 hours of each other. The deceased were traveling from the DRC when they caught the infection, reports the WHO.<\/p>\n<p>The current outbreak is associated with the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus. No vaccine currently exists against Bundibugyo. Vaccines for previous strains of Ebola, including the more common Zaire strain, are ineffective against Bundibugyo.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-highly-transmissible\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Highly transmissible<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>In the early stages of the illness, the person is not very contagious. \u201cBut as the person gets progressively ill, the virus multiplies more and more throughout the body, and then anyone who has personal touch contact with that individual becomes sick,\u201d said Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re getting sick and caregivers are trying to help you, making you comfortable, helping you eat, helping you with your bodily functions, they can acquire the infection,\u201d said Schaffner in a May 18 interview with American Community Media. \u201cAnd then by the time you actually get so sick that you pass away, your body essentially becomes a test tube full of the ebola virus, including the skin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd that\u2019s why burial practices are so important. In many cultures, it is very respectful to bathe the departed. This is a sign of respect. But in those activities, the people who are showing the respect can acquire the infection. And then later they can transmit it to others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo burial practices become very, very critical in trying to curtail the spread of this outbreak,\u201d said Schaffner. People are most contagious when they are very sick and after they have passed away.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-dangerous-burial-practices\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Dangerous burial practices<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The Ebola virus can remain on an infected person\u2019s skin for more than 7 days after a person has died.<\/p>\n<p>Burial practices are rooted in the culture of a community. \u201cIn West Africa when we had the Ebola outbreak a few years ago, we had to work with local community leaders to get them to understand that this reverence that they were having for the deceased was actually extraordinarily dangerous,\u201d said Schaffner.<\/p>\n<p>Below are portions of ACoM\u2019s interview with Dr. Schaffner.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"h-could-ebola-rise-to-pandemic-level-proportions-and-how-at-risk-are-we-in-the-us\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Could Ebola rise to pandemic level proportions and how at risk are we in the US?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Well, clearly it is spreading locally in the Congo and now into Uganda. The risk to the rest of the world still is very low.<\/p>\n<p>First of all, a person who would acquired the infection in the Congo or Uganda would have to get on a plane or other mode of transportation. They would come to this country, and become sick and go unrecognized. If we could recognize the infection as we did in the West African circumstance, then we can put people into isolation units and care for them safely and then not spread.<\/p>\n<p>So although there is some risk of transmission now, the general risk is very low.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Editor\u2019s note: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/ebola\/situation-summary\/title-42-order.html\">travel ban<\/a>\u00a0May 18, restricting entry for non-US citizens who had traveled to the DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan over the past 21 days.)<\/em><\/p>\n<h4 id=\"h-how-does-ebola-spread\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How does Ebola spread?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p id=\"h-how-does-ebola-spread\">The reservoir for these Ebola strains is in the wild and it\u2019s often in African fruit bats. And these bats can eat fruit incompletely and drop it down. And then sometimes children pick it up and munch on that fruit.<\/p>\n<p id=\"h-how-does-ebola-spread\">Or the fruit bats themselves can be used for food. And in the context of preparing the fruit bat, actually cutting it up, somebody could cut themselves and thereby inoculate themselves and they become the first case.<\/p>\n<p>Then, as they become progressively ill, family and friends will want to take care of them. In that close contact, transmission can occur.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"h-is-ebola-always-fatal\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Is Ebola always fatal?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>It\u2019s not universally fatal, but if you\u2019re sick, you do need sophisticated medical care. We don\u2019t have an anti Ebola drug, but we do have intensive medical care that can support your body while it fights off the virus.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"h-and-what-does-that-care-look-like\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>And what does that care look like?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Intravenous fluids, constant testing to monitor the chemicals in your blood to make sure that they\u2019re balanced, giving you nutrition, making sure we take care of your bodily waste, making sure that while you\u2019re in bed, you don\u2019t develop bed sores, all of that sort of supportive care.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"h-how-extensively-do-you-expect-to-see-this-outbreak-continue-nbsp\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How extensively do you expect to see this outbreak continue?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Well, this outbreak is rural. The roads are not very good. The medical care is somewhat modest. It\u2019s in an area of political turbulence. There\u2019s a fair amount of poverty.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the fact that these are modest circumstances, people are nonetheless mobile. They move. And all of those things together suggest to me\u00a0that this outbreak may be more intense. It may take quite some time to bring to a close.<\/p>\n<p>I would expect there would be substantial spread over the next days and even weeks.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"h-nbsp-after-the-us-pullout-of-the-world-health-organization-last-year-do-we-face-a-greater-risk-for-ebola-and-similar-illnesses-that-are-now-in-the-developing-world\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u00a0After the US pullout of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/americancommunitymedia.org\/health-care\/trumps-exit-from-world-health-organization-undermines-u-s-pandemic-preparedness\/\">World Health Organization<\/a>\u00a0last year, do we face a greater risk for Ebola, and similar illnesses that are now in the developing world<\/strong>?<\/h4>\n<p id=\"h-after-the-us-pullout-of-the-world-health-organization-do-we-face-a-greater-risk-for-ebola-and-similar-illnesses-that-are-now-in-the-developing-world\">Our withdrawal from the WHO puts us at arm\u2019s length rather than being close to the WHO. Nonetheless, public health communities around the world are still communicating with each other.<\/p>\n<p id=\"h-after-the-us-pullout-of-the-world-health-organization-do-we-face-a-greater-risk-for-ebola-and-similar-illnesses-that-are-now-in-the-developing-world\">But I personally, of course, would wish that we were closely associated and part of the WHO, working with our international partners on these public health issues.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"h-given-that-there-s-a-low-risk-of-transmission-to-the-us-why-should-americans-be-concerned-about-ebola\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Given that there\u2019s a low risk of transmission to the US, why should Americans be concerned about Ebola?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Well, we should be concerned for two reasons. One, there\u2019s the humanitarian reason. We wish to reach out and help people who don\u2019t have the resources to deal with this very fatal disease.<\/p>\n<p>And the other is self-interest.\u00a0What\u2019s over there can be over here in less than 24 hours. So if we can stop what\u2019s over there, it won\u2019t come over here, wherever over here is.<\/p>\n<p>We are linked inextricably with our fellow humans all around the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BySunita Sohrabji May 18, 2026 Traditional&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80973"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80974,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80973\/revisions\/80974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}