[MCOH-EH] Prions

[Born, Stephen]

Hi Max,

I wrote the original protocol when working at UCSF.  It was written for and in consultation with the Prusiner Lab.  The protocol was not written by UCSF OEM.  A long story.  I was hired to work with the Communicable Disease Prevention Program and later EH&S to address numerous deficiencies on the part of the Parnassus OEM clinic.  I have thrown out most of my files from this era but will look for whatever may remain.

Sincerely,

Stephen Born
________________________________
From: MCOH-EH <mcoh-eh-bounces+sborn=sfghoem.ucsf.edu at mylist.net> on behalf of Max Blumberg <maxjblumberg at gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2025 8:53 PM
To: mcoh-eh at mylist.net <mcoh-eh at mylist.net>
Subject: [MCOH-EH] Prions

Hi MCOH team,  We recently had an unusual situation with a sharps exposure to prion-like agglutinating proteins in a research lab that led us to revisit our prion exposure policy. Historically our university lab safety team has recommended submersion
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Hi MCOH team,

We recently had an unusual situation with a sharps exposure to prion-like agglutinating proteins in a research lab that led us to revisit our prion exposure policy. Historically our university lab safety team has recommended submersion of a sharps-exposed hand in 4% NaOH for 2 minutes followed by copious flushing with water. Our hospital infection prevention team has raised the question whether this is a wise recommendation given the caustic potential of the strong base and the lack of published guidelines with such a recommendation or published cases of occupational sharps exposure leading to prion illness. Any advice at other institutions is appreciated!

Max

--
Max Blumberg, MD, MPH
UCSF Associate Medical Director Occupational Health Services
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