TO NED - HUMAN PRIONS IN PUBLIC SEWERS AND SEWAGE SLUDGE BIOSOLIDS
Ned - because this is an enormous subject, I am going to make some statements . . . . and if you question or disbelieve these statements . . . let me know and I will go back furnish what I have for backup data. I am not a scientist . . . what I do is attempt to collect and correlate information produced by others
First of all, I assume you are being coy in not mentioning the ongoing EPA funded research by Trina McMahon, et al, UW-Madison re prions in sewage sludge. (http://www.news.wisc.edu/releases/9840. html)
The problem with the UW-Madison research - and your email - is that both ignore the significant issue of human prions being discharged to public sewers, which are reconcentrated by the wastewater treatment process in BOTH Class A and Class B sewage sludge biosolids (hereinafter called "sludge").
Since there are site restrictions on Class B sludge, let's temporarily ignore the prions in that stuff (which is topdressed and being ingested by grazing cows, cattle, livestock) and move on to Class A sludge - which is being sold by the bag by WalMart, etal, to an unsuspecting public for use in home vegetable gardens, and being spread on ballfields,, playgrounds and other places where children (and particularly PICA kids) are likely to be exposed.
Where would human prions come from? The CDC publicly states that only one in a million people are infected with CJD. But if you go deeper into their files, you will find that they acknowledge 3.4 people per million > age 50 are actually afflicted with CJD.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease affects both men and women worldwide usually between the ages of 50 to 75 years. The officially stated mortality rate is one to two deaths per one million population per year. However, this figure appears to be an understatement as CJD is often misdiagnosed. In one study by Yale University researchers 13% of Alzheimer patients were found upon autopsy to actually have CJD. (Dr. Laura Manuelidis, et al http://www.cyber-dyne.com/~tom/Alzheimer_cjd.html#clinical A similar study performed at the University of Pittsburgh showed over 5% of Alzheimer's patients were CJD victims http://www.zarcrom.com/users/alzheimers/odem/cjd1.html
5% CJD X 4.5 million AD = 225,000 potential CJD victims . . . . . .13% CJD X 4.5 AD = 585,000 potential CJD victims
WHY DON'T WE KNOW HOW MANY CJD VICTIMS THERE ACTUALLY ARE? BECAUSE NO-ONE WANTS TO PAY FOR EITHER AUTOPSIES OR THE REPLACEMENT COST OF VALUABLE MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS BEAUSE CJD IS SO INFECTIVE THAT THE INSTRUMENTS CANNOT BE STERILIZED AND MUST BE DESTROYED AFTER A CJD POSITIVE AUTOPSY.
HOW DO CJD PRIONS GET IN CLASS A (and Class B) SEWAGE SLUDGE COMPOST BIOSOLIDS?
Peer reviewed, published research indicates that prions are present in the urine and blood of CJD infected humans:
Recent research by Reichl H, Balen A, Jansen CA. has found prions in urine and blood of both animals and humans who are victims of TSEs (Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies - which would include CJD).
Thus, prions in infected urine of TSE/CJD victims which is discharged to sewers, will be partitioned to the sewage sludge by the wastewater treatment process.
"Evidence is emerging that suggests that the protease-resistant isoform (PrP(sc)) of the normal cellular prion protein (PrP(c)) can be detected in the blood and urine of animals and humans with transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs)."
"Despite the paucity of evidence to date and its relevance to the infectious spread of TSEs, it is important that robust measures are implemented to either remove or inactivate PrP(sc) in order to minimize contamination."
1: Hum Reprod. 2002 Oct;17(10):2501-8. Related Articles, Links
Prion transmission in blood and urine: what are the implications for recombinant and urinary-derived gonadotrophins?
PRIONS IN URINE: apparently Japanese scientists have also found prions in urine of sCJD victims . . . confirming the work of Dr. Ruth Gabizon. . .. http://www.priondata.org/data/A_Urinediagnostics.html
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there is one case of sporadic CJD for every 1 million people, but the incidence increases to five cases per million among those aged 65 and older. " ********************************************************************************************
Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 6:06 PM Subject: PRIONS IN URINE - HAMSTERS, HUMAN AND CATTLE ADD TO PRIONS IN SEWAGE SLUDGE
SEAC/SCI/78/35 Miyazawa K, Shiga, Y, Matsuzaki, M. Takeda A, Itoyama, Y. The detection of a protrease-resistant prion protein isoform in urine of Crutzfeld-Jakob Disease patients. Annals Neurol 2002; Suppl 1:S54
http://www.priondata.org/data/A_Urinediagnostics.html This was put as a poster at the 127th American Neurological Society conference and they seem to have been able to repeat Ruth Gabizon's work using a slightly different technique. Urine Test Promising for ID'ing Rare Brain Ailment Reuters Health By Dana Frisch Thursday, October 24, 2002 http://www.nlm.nih. gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_10029.html NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Japanese researchers have shown that a urine test seems to be a promising way to confirm a diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a rare, fatal neurological disorder. The researchers did not test the urine of patients with variant CJD--a form of the disease that has killed more than 100 young adults, mostly in Britain--but such a test could be useful in diagnosing the disease. Currently, a combination of tonsil biopsy and brain scans are used to confirm a diagnosis of variant CJD, which is linked to the consumption of meat contaminated with "mad cow disease" or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Symptoms of CJD include dementia and loss of muscle control. In the new study, researchers tested the urine of patients with sporadic CJD, a form of CJD that occurs at random in the population. The cause of sporadic CJD is not known but it is not linked to BSE. Patients who develop sporadic CJD are typically elderly and have a different pattern of symptoms than those with variant CJD, who tend to be in their teens or 20s. In the latest study, scientists collected urine from 10 CJD patients, and patients with other neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's, and analyzed the samples for the prions, the agents thought to cause the disease. They detected the prion in the urine of CJD patients but only several months after symptoms of the disease became apparent, according to Dr. Yusei Shiga, a study co-author from Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. The test was negative in patients with other ailments, as well as those with an inherited form of CJD. Shiga and his co-authors note that CJD in those patients typically "runs a long clinical course" and generates few prions, making it harder to detect in a urine test. Shiga said having a readily useable test for CJD is important for determining if a person does have the disease to protect against transmission. In the future, he said, if a treatment is found, treating it early will be helpful, and diagnosing it accurately and easily will be key. The study was presented recently in New York at the American Neurological Association's annual conference. Dr. Ruth Gabizon of the Department of Neurology, Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem, Israel said the results were promising. "I was happy to see that the (inherited form of CJD) was negative, because we actually expect each prion genetic disease to be a little different and to react differently," said Gabizon, who was leader of the team that first detected the disease in urine in 2001. She is currently trying to develop a simple test kit for use in any lab. More research is needed to determine if such tests will work for variant CJD, she said. However, the tests do seem to pick up BSE in cattle and scrapie, a similar disease, in sheep. "All these infectious prion diseases seem to work OK (in the test), and that is why we think that variant CJD is going to work like these, too," Gabizon told Reuters Health. If the new study confirms Gabizon's work and extends the findings, it would be "significant," said Dr. Ermias Belay, a medical epidemiologist with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, he cautioned that the latest results need to be published in full and reviewed by other researchers before firm conclusions can be made. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there is one case of sporadic CJD for every 1 million people, but the incidence increases to five cases per million among those aged 65 and older. In addition to the urine test, other companies are working on blood tests that could be used to screen blood for BSE and new variant CJD. At present, there is no such test. While the risk of contracting CJD through donor blood is still theoretical, the US does not allow anyone who spent extensive time in the UK or Europe to donate blood, for fear of contaminating the blood supply. ********************************************************************************** http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi? cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12351519&dopt=Abstract
Prion transmission in blood and urine: what are the implications for recombinant and urinary-derived gonadotrophins?
Reichl H, Balen A, Jansen CA.
Hamosan Life Science Services, Vienna Biocenter, Dr Bohr Gasse 7b, A-1030 Wien, Austria. herwig. [email protected]
Evidence is emerging that suggests that the protease-resistant isoform (PrP(sc)) of the normal cellular prion protein (PrP(c)) can be detected in the blood and urine of animals and humans with transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs).
PROBE FOR PRIONS Diagnostic prions found in urine before disease symptoms appear STU BORMAN In a surprising and unexpected discovery, researchers in Israel have found a form of prion in urine that can indicate the presence of disease caused by the mysterious protein even before symptoms appear.
While looking for other substances in hamster urine, she and her coworkers found an isoform (tissue- specific form) of protease-resistant prion protein in the urine of prion-infected hamsters, and subsequently also in the urine of cattle and humans with prion diseases. Few researchers had looked for prions in urine before, Gabizon notes, because they generally believed prions would not pass through the kidneys in substantially intact form.
Gabizon is hardly a newcomer to prion research. A decade ago, she worked for neurology professor Stanley B. Prusiner of the University of California, San Francisco, who won the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering that prions cause TSEs.
http://www.priondata.org/data/A_Urinediagnostics.html#Ruth%20Gabizon's Ruth Gabizon's work Ruth Gabizon is based in Jerusalem but used to work for Stan Prusiner in California. Her work has shown that, as long as concentration steps can take place in advance, then Western blotting of the urine sample from small quantities will show a prion-like compound present in the urine. This compound was the prion protein, but in a changed form. It remained proteinase K resistant and could be shown to be associated with the prion infection. She showed it to be present in the urine of animals with scrapie and BSE early in the incubation period of the disease. The work has now become part of a company in Israel. *****************************************************************************
A protease resistant PrP Isoform is Present in Urine of Animals and Humans affected with Prion Diseases - Gideon M. Shaked, Yuval Shaked, Zehavit Kariva, Michele Halimi, Inbal Avraham and Ruth Gabizon, Dept. of Neurology, the Agnes Ginges Center for Human Neurogenetics, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel -
Okay, Ned . . . . I am going to skip over all the documentation I have that prions are present in the blood of CJD infected people. . . . I will pass on the numerous articles that no autopsies are performed on most CJD victims because the families don't want to pay the $ thousands of dollars in costs for the post mortems and the pathologists/medical examiners, etc. don't want to have to pay to replace thousands of dollars in valuable medical instruments because CJD infectivity cannot be mitigated by standard autoclaving, etc. "Relatives suspect link between infected beef and kindred human disease January 24, 2004 http://www.pressdemocrat.com/local/news/24madcow_a1empirea.html
"The Sonoma County coroner has a policy against conducting such autopsies because of the possibility that a medical examiner will become infected. Bernstein said he understands the coroner's concern, noting surgeons have gotten the disease from working on infected brains."
And I would be very surprised if you were to suggest that present Class A and Class B pathogen reduction methods have any effect whatsoever on prions. If you have any doubts or questions, let me know and I can laboriously and extensively provide you with confirmatory research backing up what I say.
But how does the blood of CJD victims get into public sewers and into the Class A sludge biosolids being sold at WalMart, et al ?
FUNERAL DIRECTORS IN WYOMING (and other states) DISCHARGE CJD INFECTED FLUIDS DIRECTLY INTO TO PUBLIC SEWERS: Funeral Directors of the State of Wyoming - which is part of EPA Region 8 - have posted instructions on the Internet to dispose of prion infected blood from CJD victims into public sewers: http://www.rense.com/general52/um.htm - EMBALMERS ADMIT CJD BLOOD DISCHARGE TO PUBLIC SEWERS
"Use drain hose to sewer system to minimize exposure to blood." (http://www.wyfda.org/member/cjg_2.html ) and Disposal of liquid waste (drainage)- If injection with drainage is attempted, it presents the additional problem of what to do with the drainage. Since formaldehyde has no effect on the prion, normal disposal into the sewer system means introducing an unknown quantity of the prion into the sewer system. As an alternative, some have proposed treating the drainage with a chemical known to have some effectiveness against the prion, such as sodium hydroxide (lye) or sodium hypochlorite (bleach). This presents further complications however. Formaldehyde, which would also be in the drainage, should never be mixed with bleach. Lye mixed with water produces heat and presents its own handling and disposal hazards. Any attempts at treating the drainage, further exposes the embalmer to the prion as well as additional chemical hazards. Therefore, although it may not seem to be an adequate solution, the most logical answer is to dispose of the drainage directly into the sewer system with a minimum of exposure to the embalmer. "
medical facilities around the country routinely discharge prion infected blood into public sewers:
· checking the Internet . . . there are innumerable references to the fact that prion contaminated blood, urine and other body fluids are routinely discharged to public sewers. What is disturbing about infectious prions is the fact that Class A sewage sludge "biosolids" pathogen reduction processes do not destroy or inactivate prions . . . . (for example, Denver-Metro produces Class A sludge . .. ) [the difference between Class A sewage sludge and Class B sewage sludge is pathogens. Class B sewage sludge can have up to 2 million colony forming units of fecal coliform per gram of total solids dry weight, and still be land applied. Fecal coliform are an "indicator species" meaning if they are present, other bacteria, viruses, protozoa, helminths, etc. are also present.
Pathogens in Class A sewage sludge biosolids compostare supposed to be"below detectable levels" and must be under 1000 mpn (most probable number) fecal coliform per/gram dry weight -- and Salmonella sp. 3 mpn per 4 grams, DW. -- however, as indicated above, Class A pathogen reduction processes are totally ineffective against prions - AND PRIONS ARE TOTALLY IGNORED BY EPA AND WASTE INDUSTRY AS A POTENTIALLY SURVIVING PATHOGEN IN CLASS A SEWAGE SLUDGE BIOSOLIDS. · http://info.med.yale.edu/ynhh/infection/guidelines/CJD_IC_Policy_02.pdf YALE NEW HAVEN HOSPITAL - INFECTION CONTROL POLICY - CREUTZFELDT JAKOB DISEASE - PRECAUTIONS POLICY
"Blood and body fluids may be disposed of in a sanitary sewer system." ****************************************************************************************************************** · · · http://ehs.ucdavis.edu/chem/chem_mnl/clsm_ch9.cfm · CALIFORNIA Medical Waste includes biohazardous waste and sharps waste.
Biohazardous Wastes are: All liquid and solid waste generated while collecting, producing, processing, testing, immunizing, treating, and/or storing specimens from humans or animals (vertebrate or invertebrate, wild or laboratory) that are known or reasonably suspected of containing agents infectious to humans, and cultures of agents infectious to humans (i.e., bacteria, fungi, rickettsia, helminths, insects, prions, protozoa and viruses) classified as Biosafety Level II or greater with evidence of human pathogenicity ("Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories," U.S. Public Health Service - Center for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health). All human anatomical remains (except teeth) and any fluid human blood and blood products. · · · Medical waste must be properly treated prior to disposal. The primary means of treatment on campus is through the UCDHS Medical Waste (MW) service, and approved MW autoclaves. However, treated blood and urine can be discharged to the sewer system. Bagged medical waste that has been treated according to MWMA requirements is considered non-medical solid waste and may be disposed at the campus landfill through the routine campus refuse collection and disposal system. Medical waste sharps containers must be collected by EH&S or an approved medical waste disposal company. Contact EH&S for further information.
http://www.dhs.state.or.us/publichealth/acd/docs/iweic.cfm OREGON 6. Medical Waste and CJD Concerns have also been raised about the need for special handling and treatment procedures for wastes generated during the care of patients with CJD or other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). These concerns stem from the fact that the prion agents which cause TSEs appear to have significant resistance to inactivation by a variety of physical, chemical, or gaseous methods.1304 There is no epidemiologic evidence, however, linking acquisition of CJD with medical waste disposal practices. Although it is prudent to handle neurologic tissue for pathologic examination and autopsy materials with care, using barrier precautions and specific procedures for the autopsy,1113 there is no justification for using extraordinary measures once the materials are discarded. Regulated medical wastes generated during the care of the CJD patient can be managed using the same strategies as for wastes generated during the care of other patients. These wastes may be then disposed of in the sanitary landfill after decontamination or discharged to the sanitary sewer as appropriate.
http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsiwm/document/guidance/gd_105.pdf OHIO BACKGROUND "Blood and other body fluids are discharged to sanitary sewers from a variety of sources including residences, hospitals, funeral homes and slaughter houses. These fluids are normally released into the sewers without any prior treatment. This method of disposal has been used for many years with no documented adverse health effects. The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta continues to recommend sanitary sewers as the most appropriate disposal method."
http://missourianonline.com/features/2004/0311.php MISSOURI Embalming involves replacing bodily fluids with preservatives like formaldehyde and other additives. Schooler said dyes are sometimes included for a more life-like appearance in the deceased. Richard Dowden, funeral director at the Price Funeral Home of Maryville, Mo., said the preservatives are pumped in through the arterial system and the blood is removed through the venial system. "I think some people have the wrong idea about the embalming process," Dowden said. "They think it's a grotesque process, but it's a surgical process." Dowden said the embalming takes 1-1 1/2 hours. The blood and other bodily fluids are flushed down the normal sewer system. Schooler said if a body is embalmed properly it can be held for two to three weeks.
MASSACHUSETTS: http://www.science.smith.edu/resources/safety/chapter_VI(c).html A. BACKGROUND The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) regulations 105 CMR 480.00 establish requirements for the handling and disposal of medical and biological waste. Waste meeting the DPH definitions are generated at three Smith College locations, Clark Science Center, Mason Infirmary, and the Athletics Department. This Medical and Biological Waste Disposal Policy covers all three of those locations. B. MEDICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WASTE DEFINITION The following wastes are defined as infectious or physically dangerous medical or biological waste. Blood and Blood Products: discarded human bulk blood and blood products in free draining, liquid state; body fluids contaminated with visible blood; and materials saturated/dripping with blood (includes antibodies developed in primates) Pathological Waste: Human anatomical parts, organs, tissues and body fluids removed and discarded during surgery or autopsy, or other medical procedures and specimens of body fluids and their containers. D. WASTE DISPOSAL PROCEDURES Options for disposal of medical and biological waste generated at Smith College are shown in Figure 1. Specific requirements for each option are described below. Sewer Discharge: Free draining blood and blood products are disposed of down the sink and the drain flushed with water.
http://www.nursingceu.com/NCEU/courses/nyinfec/ NEW YORK Regulated medical waste ("red bag" waste) demands special precautions in handling and disposal. Regulated medical waste includes: Microbiology laboratory waste Pathology and anatomy waste Bulk blood or blood products
These items require special handling, transport and storage procedures. CDC (2003) recommends the following guidelines:
Personnel responsible for waste management need appropriate training in handling and disposal methods in accordance with hospital policy.
Waste generated in isolation areas should be handled using the same methods used for waste from other patient-care areas.
Disposable syringes with needles, including sterile sharps that are being discarded, scalpel blades, and other sharp items should be disposed of in puncture resistant containers located as close as practical to the point of use.
Do not bend, recap, or break used syringe needles before discarding them into a container. Sanitary sewers may be used for safe disposal of blood, suctioned fluids, ground tissues, excretions, and secretions, provided that local sewage discharge requirements are met and that the state has declared this to be an acceptable method of disposal. *************************************************************
http://www.jewish-funerals.org/greeningfinal.htm - FLORIDA Funeral home effluent, however, is not regulated, and waste is flushed into the common sewer system or septic tank." In addition, the invasive nature of the embalming procedure may put the mortician at further risk should s/he come in contact with a blood-borne pathogen.