Decontamination of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and other transmissible agents.

The bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) epidemic in cows, and the recent BSE-linked human infections, present new public health problems. More rigorous measures are needed to prevent additional transmissions. Tissue from established but undiagnosed human infections can contaminate medical supplies and instruments. We tested guanidine thiocyanate (GdnSCN) solutions and found them to be highly effective in disrupting the infectious agent, even in very complex tissues such as whole brain. It may be prudent now to use this reagent routinely in surgical and other relevant settings.