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Cultural Burial as a Human Rights Consideration Within the Ebola Response and Beyond Mary Glenn Krause
Humans should have the right to practice cultural burial or similar
body deposition (CBOSBD) using mortuary rituals (including last rights, mourning rites, preparation of the body, and final disposition) that are connected to one’s religion, belief system, and/or sociocultural community. However, there are circumstances where public health responsibilities to the living conflict with certain mortuary practices. When mourners are denied the ability to dispose of their dead in accordance with their mortuary rituals due to public health concerns such as the spread of infectious diseases, it can lead to unintentional psychological and physical health consequences.
The pressing need for a CBOSBD right is best exemplified in the
Ebola virus (Zaire ebolavirus or EVD) epidemic within the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Transmission of EVD occurs through direct contact with infected bodily fluids or fomites.1 Therefore, the physically intimate funerary or burial practices that more than two hundred cultural groups practice in the DRC put mourners at high risk for infection from the EVD victim’s body. Risky aspects of these traditions include cleaning and decorating the cadaver, transporting the body to the deceased’s home village for internment, and holding large public funerals with the body present. These customs put not only the next of kin but also the wider community at risk for infection.2 Furthermore, the virus remains viable for up to seven days, and its RNA remains detectable in body fluids for ten weeks.3 This longevity creates a notably extended period for potential infection.
In a national environment already plagued by systematic inequality
and low institutional trust, critical standard containment protocols for EVD increase tensions between affected communities and response workers.4 Only about 7% of the DRC’s population have internet access, making it difficult for many citizens to make informed decisions.5,6 As a result, misinformation
