Transmission of CJD from nasal brushings but not spinal fluid or RT-QuIC product.

Pellets from patients' olfactory mucosa brushings had ≥10,000-fold lower infectivity per unit volume than brain tissue, while CSF lacked detectable infectivity. Nonetheless, the results suggest that appropriate precautions may be warranted in surgical interventions involving the olfactory areas. The lack of pathogenic infectivity in the real-time quaking-induced conversion assay products provides evidence that the assay does not replicate biohazardous prions in vitro.