DESPITE belief in some quarters to the contrary, the bodies of victims of natural disasters or armed conflict rarely pose a health threat to communities, the Red Cross and the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday.

Victims who have died from trauma, drowning or fire “do not normally harbor organisms that cause disease with common precautions,” the agencies said.

They added that exceptions are deaths resulting from infectious diseases such as Ebola, Marburg or cholera, or if disaster strikes in an area where infectious diseases are endemic.

Both also noted the risk of diarrhea from drinking water contaminated by fecal material from dead bodies.

But routine disinfection of drinking water is sufficient to prevent waterborne illness, even though bodies should not be left in contact with drinking water sources, the agencies said.

Their advice comes after major flooding in Libya and an earthquake in Morocco, with death tolls in the thousands.

Authorities often try to bury the dead as swiftly as possible, which can heighten suffering for relatives and create legal and

administrative problems for vicM tims’ families.

But the idea that corpses can spread disease is a “misunderstandM ing [which] often pushes people to hastily bury the dead and make

it more likely that people will go missing, leaving their loved ones in anguish for years to come,” said Bilal Sablouh, regional forensics advisor for Africa at the International ComM mittee of the Red Cross.

“Those who survive an event like a natural disaster are more likely to spread disease than dead bodies,” added Pierre Guyomarch, head of

forensics at the Red Cross.

Both the Red Cross and the WHO recommend identifying bodies and then burying them in individual, clearly marked graves whose locations are then docuM mented for later traceability.

“We urge authorities in comM munities touched by tragedy to not rush forward with mass burials or

mass cremations,” said Dr. KazuM nobu Kojima, WHO medical offiM cer for biosafety and biosecurity, in its Health Emergencies Program.

“Dignified management of bodM ies is important for families and communities, and in cases of conM flict, is often an important compoM nent of bringing about a swifter end to the fighting,” he said.