Community Chat

[Elstongunn]

What the original post didn't state was that it wasn't known by the doctors, surgeons, operating room staff, or sterilization staff that the woman on whom the surgery was done had CJD. It was only found out days later when the labs came back that she had CJD. By that time the surgical instruments used had gone through the usual sterilization process and used on other patients.

The usual sterilization process fails to destroy the prions that make up CJD. The instruments that are exposed to the disease must go through a very intensive and much stronger sterilization process than normal. If the patient is suspected of having a TSE, then the instruments are quarantined and kept separate until the labs come back.

[mistriTsquirrel]

On 2/11/2014 mominohio said:

On 2/11/2014 happy housewife said: mominohio - hate to be the one to tell you this but there is potential EVERYWHERE to pick up diseases. Not just in hospitals. Most of the diseases people get are not "caused" by their behaviors - they are just unfortunate victims of circumstances that were not under their control.

The point is, if you can avoid being in hospitals, by changing your lifestyle, eating, smoking, exercising regimen, hygiene habits, etc. (and very much disease and illness is caused or exacerbated by lack of care in these areas) You will be doing yourself a favor in ways you don't even know.

Hospitals are, by nature, a center for disease and infection, and there are probably hundreds of thousands of people each year, that could avoid being in a hospital if they took better care of their health. Of course, I'm not as stupid as you want to insinuate, I know disease is everywhere, but why put yourself in a weakened immune state, and in the center of the fire, by having to be in a hospital, when you have the option to try to do everything possible to not be there.

That in itself won't empty out the hospitals, but could reduce the number of people there considerably, and therefore their exposure to illness.

Boy, if only the patients who had surgery with possibly tainted tools had read this valuable post beforehand, maybe they could've avoided putting themselves in this situation.

[mistriTsquirrel]

Did the patient suspected of having CJD have brain surgery there, or was it some other sort of surgical procedure? I would want to know that, because it may affect the likelihood of transmission of the disease.

[Elstongunn]

On 2/12/2014 mistriTsquirrel said:

Did the patient suspected of having CJD have brain surgery there, or was it some other sort of surgical procedure? I would want to know that, because it may affect the likelihood of transmission of the disease.

In the initial report, the patient was having brain surgery but it wasn't clearly stated why. I believe a sample of an abscess they found was taken and came back days later with the diagnosis. The initial report stated that the patient wasn't known or suspected of having CJD. Presuming that an MRI was done on the patient prior to the procedure, the CJD didn't show up on that, either.

I haven't read updated reports yet on the investigation and the initial patient's surgery and why he/she had it.

[EmmaBunting]

I actually know someone who died from this disease.

[Eleanor]

My aunt died of this in 1975. Because she was my mother's sister, I was told by the Red Cross that I cannot donate blood.

[Libbie Hill]

On 2/12/2014 Eleanor said:

My aunt died of this in 1975. Because she was my mother's sister, I was told by the Red Cross that I cannot donate blood.

Why? Is it genetic?

[Eleanor]

I'm not sure if it is genetic, but, I contacted the Red Cross and they think there may be some genetic tie. However, they assured me that my children could donate blood, after one generation there would not be any problems.

[gardenman]

ktlynam has this nailed down pretty well. Let me just add that 'normal' CJD isn't transmissable by blood or blood products, but the variant CJD they have in Great Britain has been found to be transmissable by blood and blood products. I'm not sure why the Red Cross would ban blood donations from a relative of a 'normal' CJD patient, but it's probably unnecessary. Prions, the causative agents of CJD, don't succomb to normal sterilization techniques as they're not alive. Prions are a deformed/folded protein that has the ability to deform other proteins which then become prions and you get into this escalating deformation/folding of proteins that ultimately destroys the brain.

[sfnative]

On 2/12/2014 ktlynam said:

What the original post didn't state was that it wasn't known by the doctors, surgeons, operating room staff, or sterilization staff that the woman on whom the surgery was done had CJD. It was only found out days later when the labs came back that she had CJD. By that time the surgical instruments used had gone through the usual sterilization process and used on other patients.

The usual sterilization process fails to destroy the prions that make up CJD. The instruments that are exposed to the disease must go through a very intensive and much stronger sterilization process than normal. If the patient is suspected of having a TSE, then the instruments are quarantined and kept separate until the labs come back.

You took the words right out of my mouth. If an OP can't post correct information, then it shouldn't appear here.

Again, the surgeons did not know at the time of the surgery that the patient was a victim of this most horrible disease. Had they known, they would have contacted their SPD and arranged for all instruments, devices, etc., to be processed correctly.