(CMR) Thailand is the first country to record a fatal case of COVID-19 which was transmitted from a dead patient to a medical examiner, that's according to a study published in the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine.
The Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine Study published the findings on Sunday in a letter to the editor entitled, “COVID-19 in forensic medicine unit personnel: Observation from Thailand.”
According to the findings, this is the first report of a coronavirus infection and death among medical personnel in a Forensic Medicine unit.
While noting that there is a low chance of forensic medicine professionals coming into contact with infected patients, the study urged professionals to be extra careful with biological samples and corpses.
“At present, there is no data on the exact number of COVID-19 contaminated corpses since it is not a routine practice to examine for COVID-19 in dead bodies in Thailand. Nevertheless, infection control and universal precautions are necessary,” wrote the authors, of the study Won Sriwijitalai and Viroj Wiwanitkit.
“Forensic professionals have to wear protective devices including a protective suit, gloves, goggles, cap, and mask. The disinfection procedure used in operation rooms might be applied in pathology/forensic units too,” added Sriwijitalai and Wiwanitkit.
The head of Thailand’s Department of Medical Services had previously said on March 25 that the bodies of coronavirus victims were not contagious amid reports of some institutions refusing to perform funeral services.
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