Prion Biology and Diseases (Monograph) (Colonial Williamsburg Historic Trades)

After initial skepticism, it is now generally accepted that prions exist, that they differ from all other pathogens, and that they are infectious in several species. Prions are implicated in spongiform encephalopathies such as kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and fatal familial insomnia in humans, scrapie in sheep and a bovine encephalopathy that may be transmissible to humans. Driven by prions' novelty and by concern about their public health effects, awareness of these pathogens has grown enormously, prompting an immense amount of sometimes conflicting research. This text aims to present an authoritative account of prion biology and disease, offering scientists, educators and students a source of reliable reference material.