Research shows that prion diseases can be spread through air.
13 replies, posted
From PLoS Pathogens, via NewScientist
[release]
You catch flu by inhaling germs – now it seems you can catch prion diseases that way too.
Prions are misshapen proteins that cause brain degeneration in conditions such as mad cow disease and scrapie in animals, and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in humans. They can get into you if you eat infected meat or receive [URL="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10764-new-vcjd-scare-rocks-the-uk.html"]infected blood[/URL], but it was thought they couldn't spread through air.
Now [URL="http://www.neuroscience.ethz.ch/research/aging_disorders/aguzzi"]Adriano Aguzzi[/URL] of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich reports that mice exposed for 10 minutes to aerosols containing as little as 2.5 per cent brain tissue from mice with scrapie all developed the disease within months. The prions didn't need processing by the immune system first, as some other research has suggested, but entered the brain directly through nasal nerves.
"We were amazed at how efficiently they spread," says Aguzzi. He warns that this doesn't mean animals or people with prion diseases actually transmit them through the air: there have been no unexplained cases of disease transmission which suggested this. But workers in [URL="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg15420802.300-secrets-and-lies-in-europe.html"]mills that process potentially infected carcasses[/URL] may need more respiratory protection.
Labs that test for prions routinely make 10 per cent suspensions of brain tissue, and any handling – pipetting, for example – creates aerosols. Prion labs are not required to use safety equipment that protects workers from aerosols. Aguzzi, who tested his aerosols at the highest level of protection, thinks those labs may now need to rethink safety measures.
Journal reference: [URL="http://www.plospathogens.org/home.action"][I]PLoS Pathogens[/I][/URL], DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1001257[/release]
[URL="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19971-prion-disease-can-spread-through-air.html"]Source[/URL]
[URL="http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1001257#s2"]PLoS Pathogens Article "Aerosols Transmit Prions to Immunocompetent and Immunodeficient Mice"[/URL]
:smith:
So, Who wants too see who can hold their breath the longest? :(
I shall move into the water where there is no air for diseases to spread.
[img]http://chadshomepage.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/mifsud.jpg[/img]
That might be a good thing depending on how long the disease has been around and how many people its infected a long time ago.
I knew it! This is how it's all gonna start! Quick, grab your shotguns and your boomer bile while you still have time!
Wow, I was just reading about prion diseases just a few hours ago.
[QUOTE=Article]He warns that this doesn't mean animals or people with prion diseases actually transmit them through the air: there have been no unexplained cases of disease transmission which suggested this. But workers in mills that process potentially infected carcasses may need more respiratory protection.[/QUOTE]
Airborne zombie plague. Yay.
Not as concerned as I thought I would be. I was expecting it to be like any normal illness. Or for cattle to be catching BSE like a cold rather than through tainted food
As I don't go around sniffing brains all day, I'm not that concerned about this.
well there are waterborne diseases lol
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