Futurity

How long do viruses survive in dead bodies?

How long do viruses like the one that causes COVID-19 last in dead bodies? An expert explains what we know and what we don't.
A 3D-printed model of the virus that causes COVID-19

There’s no easy answer to how long viruses survive in dead bodies, but we’ve learned lessons from the past, says virologist Matt Koci.

Some of the many questions about today’s COVID-19 pandemic revolve around what happens to viruses in the remains of humans or animals.

For example, could people get sick from digging up decades-old bodies? Or could future scientists get more information about COVID-19 by examining human remains a century from now?

Here, Koci, a professor in North Carolina State University’s poultry science department whose work focuses on host-microbe interactions in birds, addresses those questions and others:

The post How long do viruses survive in dead bodies? appeared first on Futurity.

More from Futurity

Futurity1 min read
This Year’s Cicada Invasion Will Be Double Trouble
For the first time in more than 200 years, two broods of cicadas—Brood XIX, known as the Great Southern Brood, and Brood XIII, known as the Northern Illinois Brood—will emerge from the ground simultaneously this year. Hannah Burrack, professor and ch
Futurity3 min read
Team Pins Down Huge Cost Of Mental Illness In The US
A new analysis of the economic toll of mental illness considers a host of adverse economic outcomes not considered in earlier estimates. Mental illness costs the US economy $282 billion annually, which is equivalent to the average economic recession,
Futurity3 min read
Nursing Home Location May Shape ‘Chemical Restraint’ Overuse
Nursing homes in disadvantaged communities are more likely to overmedicate residents with antipsychotics, especially homes that are understaffed, according to a new study. “The neighborhood in which a nursing home is located seems to influence how wi

Related Books & Audiobooks