-
Transmission of
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease to a chimpanzee by electrodes
contaminated during neurosurgery.
Gibbs CJ Jr,
Asher DM,
Kobrine A,
Amyx HL,
Sulima MP,
Gajdusek DC.
Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies, National
Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National
Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Stereotactic multicontact electrodes used to probe the
cerebral cortex of a middle aged woman with progressive
dementia were previously implicated in the accidental
transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) to two
younger patients. The diagnoses of CJD have been
confirmed for all three cases. More than two years after
their last use in humans, after three cleanings and
repeated sterilisation in ethanol and formaldehyde
vapour, the electrodes were implanted in the cortex of a
chimpanzee. Eighteen months later the animal became ill
with CJD. This finding serves to re-emphasise the
potential danger posed by reuse of instruments
contaminated with the agents of spongiform
encephalopathies, even after scrupulous attempts to
clean them.
Publication Types:
PMID: 8006664 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
|