--- title: Ebola Bodies Are Infectious Over a Weak After Death description: Researchers for the National Institutes of Health released a new study showing the Ebola virus may stay infectious in dead bodies for a week canonical: https://time.com/3708994/ebola-bodies-infectious/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-13T16:40:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:02:49.489Z article:section: Health og:title: Ebola Bodies Are Infectious a Week After Death og:description: Researchers for the National Institutes of Health released a new study showing the Ebola virus may stay infectious in dead bodies for a week og:url: https://time.com/3708994/ebola-bodies-infectious/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb27cf8f53d0cb6c3/69877f37a988ca839b6ac76e/128581294-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 6000 og:image:height: 3375 og:image:alt: 128581294 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ebola Bodies Are Infectious a Week After Death twitter:description: Researchers for the National Institutes of Health released a new study showing the Ebola virus may stay infectious in dead bodies for a week twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb27cf8f53d0cb6c3/69877f37a988ca839b6ac76e/128581294-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ebola Bodies Are Infectious a Week After Death, Study Shows > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=31a76a51-a88f-4378-94c8-86b7154e45c4&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Ebola Fighters in the U.S. - TIME's Person of the Year 2014 [Watch (HLS stream): Ebola Fighters in the U.S. - TIME's Person of the Year 2014](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SBg4j1BY.m3u8) (6:15)  _Published 2014-12-10. Dr. Kent Brantly and other health care workers talk about surviving Ebola_ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Feb 13, 2015 4:40 PM UTC by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Feb 13, 2015 4:40 PM UTC Scientists have known for some time that the closer a person with Ebola is to death, the more infectious they are. A dead body with Ebola has been frequently referred to as a “[viral bomb](http://time.com/3429927/ebola-liberia-body-collectors/).” But what was unclear was how long bodies remained infectious. Now, researchers working for the National Institutes of Health in Hamilton, Montana [released new findings](http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/21/5/15-0041%5Farticle) on Thursday showing the Ebola virus may remain infectious in dead bodies for a week, and detectable for 1o weeks. In the study, the researchers infected five macaque monkeys—a species they believe can serve as models for humans—with Ebola, then eventually euthanized them. They placed the dead monkeys in a temperature- and environment-controlled chamber to simulate the climate of West Africa. Over several weeks, the researchers sampled and swabbed the tissue of their nose, mouth, blood, lung, spleen, liver and muscle. ### Life Returns to Normal After Deadly Ebola Outbreak  Boys play on the beach next to the Atlantic Ocean in the West Point township on Jan. 31, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  A girl collects her family's laundry after drying it on a rooftop in the West Point township on Jan. 31, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  Children sit outside her home in the West Point township on Jan. 31, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  Children celebrate a soccer goal while playing in the West Point township on Jan. 31, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  A boy hangs off a fishing boat next to the Atlantic Ocean in the West Point township on Jan. 31, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  Ebola survivor and nurse's aid Benetha Coleman comforts an infant girl with Ebola symptoms in the high-risk area of the Doctors Without Borders' Ebola Treatment Unit on Jan. 26, 2015 in Paynesville, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  Groom Clarence Murvee takes his bride Bindu Quaye by the waist while entering their wedding reception on Jan. 24, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  A pile of broken chairs and desks lie in the corner of the Tubman High School gymnasium on Jan. 27, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  A boy carries fried fish for sale in the West Point township on Jan. 24, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  A congregation stands during a Sunday service at the Bethel World Outreach Church in the West Point township on Jan. 25, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  People await medical treatment in the outpatient lounge of Redemption Hospital, formerly an Ebola holding center, on Feb. 2, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  People await treatment in the outpatient lounge of Redemption Hospital, formerly an Ebola holding center, on Feb. 2, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  A placard with information on identifying Ebola symptoms lies in the outpatient waiting room of Redemption Hospital, formerly an Ebola holding center, on Feb. 2, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  A nurse administers an injection on the first day of the Ebola vaccine study being conducted at Redemption Hospital, formerly an Ebola holding center, on Feb. 2, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  Workers renovate a pediatric ward which had been used as an Ebola holding center at Redemption Hospital on Jan. 29, 2015 near Monrovia, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  A burial team member wearing personal protective equipment stands for decontamination spray at the U.S.-built cemetery for safe burials on Jan. 27, 2015 in Disco Hill, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  A Liberian Red Cross burial team prepares to test the body of a toddler for Ebola while collecting it from a home in the West Point township on Jan. 28, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  Cross maker Anthony Johnny prepares fresh grave markers for the Christian section of the U.S.-built cemetery for safe burials on Jan. 27, 2015 in Disco Hill, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  Midwife Maima Johnson hands a newborn girl to mother Cecelia Mensah, 20, after delivering the child at the Star of the Sea Health Center on Jan. 29, 2015 in the West Point township of Monrovia, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  A grave digger works in the U.S.-built cemetery for "safe burials" on Jan. 27, 2015 in Disco Hill, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  A caretaker stands in a kindergarten on Jan. 27, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  A Liberian Red Cross burial team carries a body for a safe burial after collecting it from a home in the West Point township on Jan. 29, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  Decontaminated stretchers and Ebola-fighting material stand aside in the Doctors Without Borders' Ebola Treatment Unit, on Jan. 26, 2015 in Paynesville, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  Mattresses and bed frames burn as Doctors Without Borders , staff dismantle much of the Ebola Treatment Unit, on Jan. 31, 2015 in Paynesville, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images  A young girl stands outside her home in the West Point township on Jan. 31, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. John Moore－Getty Images **MORE** [TIME Person of the Year: Ebola Fighters](http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-ebola-fighters/) They concluded that infectious Ebola virus remained in the macaques’ organs for three days, and in their blood for seven days, after death. Viral RNA, which wasn’t infectious, was still detectable for 10 weeks. The new findings underline the continued need for vigilance when burying the bodies of Ebola victims, as well as safer funeral practices. In the beginning of the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the spread of the virus could often be traced to funerals. Prior to massive education efforts, people living in the three affected countries often participated in intimate practices with the dead. In Liberia, for example, washing and kissing the corpse was a common custom. The research also gives scientists a better understanding of how long the virus can remain in dead animals, since an outbreak is is typically spurred from contact between an infected animal and a human. It also provides a warning for researchers in the field who may handle primate carcasses, the researchers note. _Read next:_ [_How Today’s Ebola Response Reflects the History of Colonialism in Africa_](http://time.com/3707158/ebola-colonialism-history/?xid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] When a disaster comes to the place where you are you can either choose to flea. Or to stay and respond to it. I went to Liberia in the first place to serve the people of Liberia and West Africa and Ebola outbreak didn't change that purpose. In fact it emphasized it a little more. [ MUSIC ] We first heard about Ebola in Liberia in March. I was actually at a picnic and somebody said, have you heard that there's an Ebola outbreak in Guinea and it's spread across the border to Liberia? One of our doctors was very concerned about the possibility of it coming to our. Mission Hospital. She felt that we should prepare an isolation unit. Not so much in case we had ebola, but when we, received an ebola patient. My choice to stay in Liberia and take care of patients with ebola and help fight this outbreak is really a natural response. [ MUSIC ] The day I found out that I had Ebola, it was a Saturday. It was July 26th. It was on July 22nd the last day I went to the isolation unit. Wasn't feeling really great, but it felt very much like malaria. So for the next four days, took malaria medication. I was lying in my bed, in my house, where I had been quarantined. And Dr. Lance Plyler who is the disaster response team leader for Samaritan's Purse was standing outside my bedroom window. And Dr. John Thankhouser, one of my colleagues and friends who was caring for me was in my room with me in full PPE. And Lance said, Kent bud, we have your test results. And I'm really sorry to tell you that it's positive for Ebola. [ MUSIC ] David came home. Told me that Kent Brantly had Ebola and, and that was really tough. Because Kent and Amber are not only colleagues but, but they're good friends. [ MUSIC ] And then David sat in the ICU also having Ebola. It's really a very surreal moment, it was a very solemn moment. I remember David reaching out to comfort me, put his arms around me and I just said don't and I knew how dangerous it was. My first response was okay. So what's next? What's our plan? How am I gonna tell my wife? I felt a very strange but overwhelming sense of peace. Obviously, when you get that kind of news, it's sobering and it's, it's hard to hear. At that time I was. Concerned about my family and what it would put them through for me to be sick. But I had a sense of calm that I knew I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. I didn't know whether I would live. I didn't know whether I would die. But the Lord just gave me this sense of peace. Two Americans both infected with the deadly virus are returning home to the U. S.. Doctor Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol. The first time I heard the word Ebola it was probably when they were doing all the coverage about Doctor Brantly and Nancy and then when I heard it in Dallas it was couple hours before I was about to get Mr. Duncan as, as my patient. An individual travelling from Liberia has been diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. I was just feeling confused, shock, as to how it could've gotten here. Thomas Eric Duncan, the first patient diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. Is fighting for his life. I was selected as a part of the team. There was no question in my mind whether or not I would take care of the patient or not. There was a patient in my unit on my floor and it was my job. My responsibility to take care of him. It's part of who I am. Nursing is a calling. There was a patient that needed help [ MUSIC ] I did everything that the CDC and the hospital recommended of me. How to put on the personal protective equipment, how to take it off. I even interviewed with the CDC and the hospital after I took care of Mr. Duncan, and they deemed me no risk. So it was just a shock. When I got the results back that my, I was positive for Ebola I almost didn't hear it. It's kind of a blur. My chief nursing officer Cole Edmondson, and then a CDC doctor came in the room in their full protective. Equipment. I saw his eyes and they had been red from crying and I knew immediately, when he told me, I just, my heart dropped. And it was a devastating news. It really was. [ MUSIC ] Because Mr. Duncan had died. Three days prior. I think flashback started coming to my head of how his disease progressed. And eventually it led to his death. Even after the last case of Ebola is finished there's gonna be a. Very broken and weak healthcare system that's gonna need to be rebuilt. Our concern and our great hope is that even though it's quieted down here, that we will not allow it to just not be addressed anymore. We live in a global community. We need to. Recognize that people on the other side of the world, they are our neighbors, and we need to treat them with love and compassion, and respect, just like we do to the person who lives in the house next door to us. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3708994/ebola-bodies-infectious/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3708994/ebola-bodies-infectious/"},"headline":"Ebola Bodies Are Infectious a Week After Death, Study Shows","datePublished":"2015-02-13T16:40:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-01T09:02:49.489Z","description":"The virus is also detectable in corpses for up to 10 weeks","url":"https://time.com/3708994/ebola-bodies-infectious/","keywords":["ebola","Virus","West Africa","Ebola outbreak"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb27cf8f53d0cb6c3/69877f37a988ca839b6ac76e/128581294-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb27cf8f53d0cb6c3/69877f37a988ca839b6ac76e/128581294-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"128581294","caption":"128581294","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ebola/","name":"ebola"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3708994/ebola-bodies-infectious/","name":"Ebola Bodies Are Infectious a Week After Death, Study Shows"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Ebola Fighters in the U.S. - TIME's Person of the Year 2014","description":"Dr. Kent Brantly and other health care workers talk about surviving Ebola","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/SBg4j1BY/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-12-10T11:44:12.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SBg4j1BY.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3708994/ebola-bodies-infectious/","duration":"PT6M15S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3708994/ebola-bodies-infectious/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```