ABSTRACT
The risk for healthcare workers (HCW) of acquiring a disease from a patient in mortuaries is small. Autopsies on known or suspected tuberculosis patients have been two-stage processes, whereby formalin is tipped via the upper airways into the lungs, and the body is only dissected the next day, nominally to reduce the risk of infection to HCWs in the mortuary. Tuberculosis, a classic high-risk infection, infects healthcare workers in many settings. The range of human immunodeficiency viruses-associated infections, tumours and degenerative conditions is large and continues to expand as patients live longer. Most pathologists are unaware that there are many specific diseases, including infections that are statutorily notifiable by law to the local authority. The notifier is usually the clinician diagnosing the disease; but if a pathologist is making the diagnosis for the first time, it is his or her duty.
