The National Funeral Directors Association recently posted an informational guidance for handling remains infectious with Ebola.
You can easily access their webpage, which will be kept updated as new information becomes available, by typing www.nfda.org/ebola into your Internet browser's address bar.
Latest Information: Post-mortem Ebola Guidance
Updated: October 22, 2014
As you may have heard, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday, September 30 that a patient being treated at a Dallas, Texas, hospital was the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. While all of the patients who have contracted Ebola and been brought to the U.S. for treatment have fully recovered, it's important to be informed and prepared should a death occur. NFDA has resources on its website (guidelines from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) on the post-mortem care of Ebola victims.
CDC:
Guidance for Safe Handling of Human Remains of Ebola Patients in U. S. Hospitals and Mortuaries: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/hcp/guidance-safe-handling-human-remains-ebola-patients-us-hospitals-mortuaries.html (this guidance is being regularly reviewed and updated by the CDC; take note of the "Page Last Rreviewed" and "Page Last Updated" dates at the bottom of the page)
Sequence for Putting on and Removing Personal Protective Equipment: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/pdf/ppe-poster.pdf
Interim Guidance for Environmental Infection Control in Hospitals for Ebola Virus: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/hcp/environmental-infection-control-in-hospitals.html
NEW Ebola and Cremation
NFDA received a question from a member about a hypothetical situation in which an individual who has a pacemaker or defibrillator dies from Ebola. NFDA passed this question on to its contacts at the CDC and their response was:
In our guidance (available at: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/hcp/guidance-safe-handling-human-remains-ebola-patients-us-hospitals-mortuaries.html) there are two options for disposition of remains: [they] may either be cremated or buried in a hermetically sealed casket. Removal of a pacemaker is not recommended given the risk for Ebola transmission in postmortem care settings and the fact that an alternative to cremation is available.
Additional Information and Background: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/index.html
If you have questions about the CDC's guidance, please contact the CDC at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) or Contact CDC-INFO.
WHO:
http://nfda.org/additional-tools-embalming/4004-who-suggests-ebola-precautions.html
FTC:
Scammers Bank on Ebola Fears: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/scammers-bank-ebola-fears
How to Guard Against Ebola-related Charity Scams
NEW OSHA
OSHA created an Ebola webpage that provides information about the disease and how to protect workers. It includes sections on the disease itself, hazard recognition, medical information, standards for protecting workers, control prevention and additional resources. This page was created for healthcare workers and mortuary and deathcare workers, along with other occupations. It also contains links to the CDC and the NIOSH web pages on Ebola. Click the following link to visit OSHA's Ebola webpage: https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/ebola/index.html.