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CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE

 

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease presents a complex challenge for perioperative nurses and other health care professionals.  The chapter has received from AORN a set of guidelines for developing protocols for the safe handling and disinfection of instruments exposed to CJD.  While medically related transmission of CJD is rare, the pathogenic agent (prion) causing CJD is highly resistant to standard sterilization.  Special care and handling is required for instruments and devices exposed to CJD prions.  Procedures for decontamination and disinfection are driven by the degree of infectivity of the contaminating tissue.  The suggested protocols for caring for instruments exposed to CJD have been developed based on the most recent literature. Information about prion infectivity and disinfection is evolving.  For updates contact the following web sites:

*Center for Disease Control   www.cdc.gov

*World Health Organization www.who.int

*Health Canada www.hc-sc.gc.ca

The cards which will be passed out to each facility can  be laminated and posted in a clinical area.   Additional copies can be obtained by calling                                        Joyce Davis at 1-800-7556 ext. 334.

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