Preliminary Study on the Possibility to Detect Virus Nucleic Acids in Post-Mortem Blood Samples

Area of Science:

• Forensic pathology
• Molecular diagnostics
• Virology

Background:

• Medical records are often unavailable in forensic cases, hindering the assessment of a deceased individual's health status, including infectious diseases.
• Detecting viruses such as hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in post-mortem samples can aid in determining cause of death and assessing occupational risks.
• Existing molecular assays for viral detection are validated on living individuals, but their efficacy on post-mortem samples requires thorough evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effectiveness of nucleic acid amplification techniques (NAATs) for detecting viral genomes in forensic post-mortem blood samples.
• To determine if clinical molecular assays can be successfully applied to post-mortem samples with the same accuracy.

Main Methods:

• Evaluation of manual nucleic acid extraction and automated amplification-based detection techniques.
• Analysis of blood samples from 21 cadavers autopsied 2 to 9 days post-mortem.
• Known serological status for HBV, HCV, and HIV-1 was available for only four cases.

Main Results:

• Automated quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and qualitative PCR confirmed viral genomes in the four known positive post-mortem samples.
• HCV and/or HIV-1 genomes were additionally detected in three samples with previously unknown serological status.
• Successful detection of viral genomes was achieved in post-mortem blood samples.

Conclusions:

• Molecular assays can detect viral genomes in forensic post-mortem blood samples up to five days after death.
• These findings suggest molecular techniques are valuable tools for post-mortem investigations.
• The study provides evidence supporting the use of NAATs in medico-legal practice for identifying infectious agents in deceased individuals.