DOH: Mass graves not necessary

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Health (DOH) said it is not necessary to dig mass graves for the fatalities of tropical storm “Sendong” in Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan.

Health Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag said yesterday relatives of the fatalities should be allowed to mourn and bury their dead separately. 

Tayag said mass burials are not needed since the dead bodies “pose limited health risks and have not caused epidemics in the past.”

“Microorganisms that cause decomposition do not cause illness among the living, most

infection agents of public health concern that are present at time of death would die within hours of a person’s death,” he added.

He said that government resources should be channeled to the survivors instead.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) had proposed that those who died from Sendong be buried in mass graves due to lack of caskets and cadaver bags.

NDRRMC maintained that this would also prevent the spread of diseases among residents in areas hit by the tropical storm.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Western Pacific Region had, however, issued guidelines to dispel “myths of dead bodies” in the aftermath of typhoon “Reming” that hit the country and claimed many lives in 2006.

The WHO clarified that it is the survivors and not the dead who are more likely to be the source of disease outbreaks “if public health care strategies for the survivors and their families are not made a priority.”

WHO said all bodies should be identified and as a last resort, unidentified corpses should be placed in individual bags with photographs and proper tagging then buried in identified burial grounds.

The guidelines showed that the body of a dead person in the wake of a disaster does not pose a risk for infection and that mass graves should not normally be used for burying disaster victims and under no circumstances should a mass burial take place when this goes against the cultural and religious practices of those affected.

WHO said that this is essential for the recovery of the survivors from severe stress and personal losses.

The agency added that not being able to mourn a relative could contribute to mental health problems associated with the disaster, thus making the rehabilitation process more difficult among survivors.