title: Epidemiological characteristics of human prion diseases.
abstract: Human prion diseases are a group of transmissible, progressive, and invariably fatal neurodegenerative disorders, which include Kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome, and fatal familial insomnia. Human prion diseases affect approximately 1-2 persons per million worldwide annually, occurring in sporadic, inherited, and acquired forms. These diseases have attracted both scientific and public attention not only because of their mysterious pathogen, but also due to their considerable threat to public health since the emergence of the variant CJD.There are still no specific therapeutic and prophylactic interventions available for prion diseases, thus active surveillance of human prion diseases is critical for disease control and prevention. Since 1993, CJD surveillance systems have been established in many countries and regions, and several long-term multinational cooperative projects have been conducted.In this paper, the epidemiological characteristics of various human prion diseases and the active surveillance systems pertaining to them in different countries and regions are summarized and reviewed.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Changbai Rd 155, Beijing, 102206, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310003, China.
authors.forename: Cao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Changbai Rd 155, Beijing, 102206, China. dongxp238@sina.com.|Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310003, China. dongxp238@sina.com.|Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China. dongxp238@sina.com.
authors.forename: Xiao-Ping
authors.initials: XP
authors.lastname: Dong
mesh_terms: D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D017096:Prion Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D011634:Public Health
keywords: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; Epidemiology; Prion disease; Surveillance