Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy; vCJD; CJD; Jacob-Creutzfeldt disease
Medical equipment is sterilized to kill organisms that may cause the disease. Persons who have a medical history of diagnosed or possible CJD are not used as cornea donors.
Most countries now have strict guidelines for management of infected cows and strict restrictions regarding what they are fed, to avoid the potential for transmission of CJD to humans.
Llewelyn CA, Hewitt PE, et al. Possible transmission of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease by blood transfusion. Lancet 2004;363:417-421.
Peden AH, Head MW, et al. Preclinical vCJD after blood transfusion in a PRNP codon 129 heterozygous patient. Lancet 2004;264:527-529.
Brown P, Will RG, Bradley R, Asher DM, Detwiler L. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: Background, Evolution, and Current Concerns. EID. January-February 2001; 7(1):6-16.
Noble J. Textbook of Primary Care Medicine. 3rd ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2001:1551-1569.