Ebola Virus Outbreak News 2015: Ebola Still Alive in Body of Victim a Week After Death

Ebola can be contracted from bodies of the deceased infected with the virus for up to a week after their death, a study by the National Institutes of Health has revealed.

The study, published in a recent edition of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, sampled deceased Ebola-infected monkeys and found that the virus remained viable for at least seven days. Researchers also found infectious viral RNA for up to 70 days after death, according to the recently released N.I.H. study.

The study's findings emphasized the significance of exercising safe and sanitary practices in handling Ebola-infected corpses.

Scientists at the N.I.H. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases examined samples from five macaque monkeys infected with the virus from a previous research and euthanized after they showed signs of the disease.

Their bodies were placed in a special chamber that mimicked the hot and humid environmental conditions in West Africa.

Researchers examined seven different body surfaces and tissues from various internal organs in order to measure the concentrations of live Ebola virus and viral RNA. Live virus was detectable in surface swabs up to seven days after death and in tissue samples for up to three days.

Meanwhile, the virus' RNA was still found in some swabs and samples even 10 weeks after death.

"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 N.I.H. said.

"This spells bad news for family members or close ones who have been exposed to the bodies of deceased loved ones who were infected with the virus," a CBS report said.