Prion Diseases as Transmissible Zoonotic Diseases

Lee, Jeongmin; Kim, Su Yeon; Hwang, Kyu Jam; Ju, Young Ran; Woo, Hee-Jong

PrP Sc in infected animals is concentrated in specific areas. These areas are called specific risk material (SRM) and include the brain, eyes, spinal cord, skull, vertebral column, tonsils, and distal ileum; these are the most crucial areas for disease management and control. The disease is transmittable via surgical tools that came into contact with SRM and via blood transfusion. Since blood rarely contains the prion, it was considered safe until a death caused by vCJD from a blood transfusion was reported in the UK, which was alarming to the public. From this case, the UK spent more than £200 million on a preventive process to protect surgical tools against prion transmission. This shows that the occurrence of BSE or vCJD can cause an enormous amount of indirect expenses, although they do not occur frequently.