Do Prions Pose a Risk in the Management of Biosolids?
Prions are small folded protein molecules containing no genetic information, which are made up of amino acids, the essential building blocks of all proteins. Prion-like proteins that are found naturally in many (perhaps all) plants and animals are folded differently than normal proteins due to slight amino acid changes in certain regions of the protein. The term prion is often used to refer to such abnormally folded proteins (also referred to as proteinaceous infectious particles), when they have the ability to affect other proteins, causing them to change from the normal form to the abnormal form. In their normal, non-infectious state, prions are believed to be involved in cell-to-cell communications and other important cell functions. In their abnormal form prions have been linked to the transmission of Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis (BSE, or so-called ‘Mad Cow’ disease) and Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease (CJD) and variant CJD. There has been discussion about the potential for prions to en
