Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date. How long is the virus detectible in blood once the virus is dead...
For example, if you needed to determine if an individual dies of
a non-HIV/AIDS related incident, can the virus still be detected
post mortem? If so, how and for how long? I've posed this
question to several online experts and none have known the
answer.
Trevor Hawkins, M. D.
Associate Clinical Professor, Dept. Family Practice, University New Mexico
Medical Director, Southwest CARE Center, Santa Fe, NM
I am not completely sure about this; postmortems are delayed for 24 hrs to limit viral recovery so most, if not all virus will be dead by then.
Refrigeration accelerates the process of viral death and embalming fluid kills HIV. I doubt if there is much chance of finding virus after 48 hrs
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