health

There is no known way to prevent genetic transmission of classic CJD, as
patients usually are old enough to marry and start a family long before
the symptoms of the disease appear. There is also no known way to prevent
the sporadic form of the disease.

Some public health measures, however, have been put into place:

• People with suspected CJD or with a family history of the disease
  are discouraged from being organ or tissue donors.
  
• Health care workers are required to wear gloves and face masks
  when handling body fluids from a patient with CJD or when
  caring for the patient’s wounds.
  
• Surgical instruments that have touched the patient are sterilized by
  soaking for a full hour in undiluted chlorine bleach and then
  heated in distilled water in an autoclave (pressure cooker) for an
  hour at 270–273°F (132–134°C).
  
• Standards for strict management of infected cows and restrictions
  as to what they are fed.