Forensic expert Dr Dinesh Rao carries out Bengaluru’s first autopsy on COVID-19 victim

Team Udayavani, Oct 22, 2020, 2:08 PM IST

Bengaluru: Forensic expert Dr Dinesh Rao, who carried out Bengaluru’s first autopsy on a 60-year-old male Covid victim informed that fifteen hours after the Covid-infected patient’s death no traces of the virus was shown on the skin of the face, neck, or internal organs like the respiratory passage and lungs.

The patient had died after suffering from the infection for more than 14 day.

Following the patient’s death, Dr Rao, head of forensic medicine in Oxford Medical College, carried out the autopsy on a 60-year-old male Covid victim and found that the lungs, which are normally like a soft sponge ball, were more like a leather ball.

“Studies have shown that the virus strain in India is different from what is seen in Italy or other parts of the world, for example, the way the virus attacks the lungs differs,” Dr Rao said.

However, when asked if relatives could be allowed to touch the victim’s body, he said the virus appears to die too, but there is also rampant bacterial infection, and more research is needed in this area.