Possibly. While the "fumes" of decomposition, which are
really gasses created by a variety of bacteria, are often unpleasant, these gases are
probably not harmful in and of themselves. However if the corpse was harboring one of a
number of spore-transmitted diseases, it is possible to become ill from one of those.
There are a couple of recorded cases of tuberculosis being transmitted from a corpse to
those handling it, including one where it was found that the act of pumping embalming
fluid into the body displaced TB spore-laden air from the corpse's respiratory system,
creating a real danger to the mortuary workers.
Aside from
tuberculosis, anthrax is another disease that can form highly resistive spores that
could be transferred from a corpse to workers nearby. It it believed that anthrax spores
can even survive and be lofted into the air from open funereal pyres. Hepatits is also
suspected to remain transmissible for some time after death.
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