Occupational hazard with “PRIONS”- in Autopsy workers.

Autopsy room as a potential source of infection to Forensic Pathologists / Autopsy Surgeons and other personnel assisting to conduct an autopsy is a well documented fact. Most frequently reported infections are tuberculosis, brucellosis, salmonellosis, HIV, hepatitis viruses (HBV, HCV etc). New worrisome infective agents called ‘PRIONS’ are associated with degenerative diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) in man and animals (e.g. Mad Cow Disease). Prions are proteinaecious infective agents characterized by extreme resistance to conventional inactivation procedures and transmissible through food, contaminated instruments etc.