[Prion, from crazy cows to iatrogenic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Which risk in laboratory or in hospital?].

The long latency time, without any characteristic clinical sign, of transmissible degenerative encephalopathies, the transmissibility of the called "prion" infectious agent, associated with its exceptional resistance to normal inactivation methods, are resulting in accidental transmissions, both human (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease), and animal (bovine spongiform encephalopathy). Among data about physical and chemical inactivation methods tested, we retain, to avoid professional or iatrogenic transmissions in the laboratory or in hospital, steam autoclaving and sodium hypochlorite or hydroxide treatment. But inactivation shall not be performed using the current processes as regarding parameters such as temperature, concentration and duration of exposure.