Hyderabad: A team of seven, including the GHMC chief medical officer, assistant medical inspector and five more assistants rushed to the Osmania Hospital on Saturday morning, on the trail of a report published in this newspaper on piling up of bodies in the mortuary. The entire cleanup operation was jointly done by four GHMC workers and men from the forensic science department.
Workers who were dealing with highly decomposed bodies were equipped with mask, gloves and boots only, making them vulnerable to the possible infections.
Narrating the disposal operation on Saturday, GHMC assistant medical health officer Dr. Venkata Ramana said, “The team, including four workers and ambulances, reached the hospital around 10am on Saturday. The workers carrying the bodies were given gloves, gum boots and mask. It took three hours to clean the transit room. Most of the bodies were bloated up.”
Too little was done on the safety side. On the mandatory precautions required while dealing with highly decomposed bodies, DNA specialist Dr. G. V Rao explained, “There are certain limitations like ‘Personal Protective Equipment’ during the embalming and disposal of bodies that each embalmer is required to have. The person should be covered from head to toe. For the body, it is a must to have a water-resistant gown. Over that should be a plastic apron.”
Secondly, there should be a face shield. They also should have alcohol-based hand-wash. The feet should have plastic cover, so that any small cut or a wound is protected from the body fluids of the deceased. For the transit room or the site where the bodies are dumped, it should be cleaned with disinfectants and household bleach. The entire operation should be supervised by a mortuary doctor or a forensic doctor. The forensic department should categorise the bodies as per the cause of the death.
