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Revised practical guidance for first responders managing the dead after disasters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2017

Sarah Ellingham ,
Stephen Cordner  and
Morris Tidball-Binz
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Abstract

The proper and dignified management of the dead is one of the three pillars of the humanitarian response to disasters, along with the rescue and care of survivors and the provision of essential services. First launched in 2006, the widely used publication Management of Dead Bodies after Disasters: A Field Manual for First Responders offers practical and easy-to-follow guidelines. It has become the go-to guide not only for non-experts confronted with dead bodies in the aftermath of a catastrophe, but also for those responsible for disaster planning and preparedness in countries with well-developed forensic services. Ten years after the publication of the 2006 Manual, a revised edition has been released. The inclusion of a decade of experience in its field implementation, as well as the incorporation of recent scientific developments in mass fatality management, makes the revised Manual an invaluable resource for first responders confronted with the realities of dead body management following a disaster.

Keywords

humanitarian forensic actionmanagement of the deaddisaster victim identificationfirst respondersdisasters
Type
Reports and documents
Information
International Review of the Red Cross , Volume 98 , Issue 902: War and security at sea , August 2016 , pp. 647 - 669
Copyright
Copyright © icrc 2017 

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References

1 In this article, as in the Manual, the terms “the dead”, “dead body/bodies”, “the deceased”, “deceased persons” and “human remains” are all synonymous and are used interchangeably.

2 Morgan, Olivier, Tidball-Binz, Morris and van Alphen, Dana, Management of Dead Bodies after Disasters: A Field Manual for First Responders, 1st ed., PAHO, Washington, DC, 2006Google Scholar. For more on the 2006 Manual, see Tidball-Binz, Morris, “Managing the Dead in Catastrophes: Guiding Principles and Practical Recommendations for First Eesponders”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 89, No. 866, 2007CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

3 WHO, Disaster Risk Management for Health: Mass Fatalities/Dead Bodies, 2011. See also Kristensen, Pål, Weisæth, Lars and Heir, Trond, “Bereavement and Mental Health after Sudden and Violent Losses: A Review”, Psychiatry, Vol. 75, No. 1, 2012CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

4 Interpol, Disaster Victim Identification Guide, 2nd ed., 2013Google Scholar.

5 McCall, Chris, “Scars of Typhoon Haiyan Still Run Deep 1 Year On”, The Lancet, Vol. 384, No. 9955, 2014CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

6 WHO, Nepal Earthquake 2015 – Grade 3 Emergency, 2016, available at: www.who.int/emergencies/nepal/en/ (all internet references were accessed in January 2017).

7 WHO, Field Situation: How to Conduct Safe and Dignified Burial of a Patient Who Has Died from Suspected or Confirmed Ebola Virus Disease, Geneva, October 2014, available at: www.who.int/csr/resources/publications/ebola/safe-burial-protocol/en/.

8 Stephen Cordner, Rudi Coninx, Hyo-Jeong Kim, Dana van Alphen and Morris Tidball-Binz (eds), Management of Dead Bodies after Disasters: A Field Manual for First Responders, 2nd ed., PAHO, Washington, DC, 2016 (2016 Manual), available at: https://shop.icrc.org/gestion-des-depouilles-mortelles-lors-de-catastrophes-manuel-pratique-a-l-usage-des-premiers-intervenants-595.html.

9 Interpol, Disaster Victim Identification Guide, 2009, available at: www.interpol.int/INTERPOL-expertise/Forensics/DVI-Pages/DVI-guide.

10 2016 Manual, above note 8, pp. 3–6.

11 See, e.g., Douceron, H., Deforges, L., Gherardi, R., Sobel, A. and Chariot, P., “Long-lasting Postmortem Viability of Human Immunodeficiency Virus: A Potential Risk in Forensic Medicine Practice”, Forensic Science International, Vol. 60, No. 1–2, 1993CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

12 de Goyet, Claude de Ville, “Epidemics Caused by Dead Bodies: A Disaster Myth that Does Not Want to Die”, Pan American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 15, No. 5, 2004Google Scholar, available at: http://publications.paho.org/english/editorial_dead_bodies.pdf.

13 2016 Manual, above note 8, pp. 7–9.

14 Ibid., p. 8.

15 Ibid., pp. 11–12.

16 Ibid., pp. 13–17.

17 Ibid., pp. 19–22.

18 Ibid., p. 21.

19 Ibid., pp. 23–25.

20 Ibid., pp. 27–28.

21 See below for a discussion of the implications of reliance upon DNA to assist with identification.

22 References have been edited here to match the format of the Review.