Transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease to a chimpanzee by electrodes contaminated during neurosurgery.
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.
Gibbs
C J
CJ
Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Asher
D M
DM
Kobrine
A
A
Amyx
H L
HL
Sulima
M P
MP
Gajdusek
D C
DC
D000818:Animals; D007562:Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality / Q000635:transmission* / Q000662:veterinary*; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D004866:Equipment Contamination; D017743:Equipment Reuse; D000431:Ethanol; D005260:Female; D005557:Formaldehyde; D006801:Humans; D007049:Iatrogenic Disease / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D008875:Middle Aged; D002679:Pan troglodytes; D011859:Radiography; D013238:Stereotaxic Techniques; D013242:Sterilization / Q000379:methods; D015996:Survival Rate; D015047:Zoonoses
D005557:Formaldehyde; D000431:Ethanol