Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD/iCJD)
Human 'mad cow disease' from BSE-contaminated beef, also passed on by transfusion, surgical instruments, grafts or growth hormone. Rapidly progressive dementia with myoclonus; the variant form hits young adults and shows the MRI 'pulvinar sign'.
Key facts
| Cause | Prion |
|---|---|
| Spread | Contaminated food/Blood/Iatrogenic (surgery/grafts/hormones) |
| Incubation | 365–15330 days |
| Vaccine | No |
| Treatment | No available cure after symptoms appear |
Did you know?
Because vCJD prions sit in lymphoid tissue, the UK started leukodepleting all donated blood in 1999 and still bans blood donors who received a transfusion after 1980. Prions also survive standard sterilisation: in the 1970s, depth electrodes 'sterilised' with ethanol and formaldehyde after use on a CJD patient still transmitted the disease to two young epilepsy patients.
Next: Cryptosporidiosis
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