Thirteen Possibly Exposed to Deadly Brain Disease Through Potentially Contaminated Medical Device

A total of 13 people may have been exposed to a rare and deadly brain disease due to potentially contaminated medical equipment, health officials said.

Of those who may be at risk, eight are from New Hampshire and were treated at Catholic Medical Center in Manchester and five are from Massachusetts, where they were treated at Cape Cod Hospital. All have been notified of their possible exposure, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

New Hampshire health officials first realized the medical device, the use of which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, was possibly contaminated after it was used on a patient in New Hampshire that was subsequently suspected of having Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (CJD).

According to Massachusetts health officials, the individuals who were potentially exposed to the disease at Cape Cod Hospital face a very low risk of contracting the disease seeing as they underwent spinal surgery, not brain surgery. Furthermore, officials from both states say there is no risk to the general public or hospital staff. 

The device under consideration is a needle-shaped probe used to aid surgeons operating in hard-to-see structures, The Boston Globe reports.

CJD is rare disease that affects the nervous system, causing the deterioration of the brain. It affects roughly one in a million people each year, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health; just 200 people in the United States are diagnosed with the disease every year.

Sporadic CJD, which the original patient in this case was suspected of having, refers to a type of the disease in which a person develops the illness despite having no known risk factors. Caused by the spontaneous transformation of normal proteins into abnormal prions, symptoms of CJD include rapidly failing memory and other cognitive difficulties. Other symptoms include personality changes, lack of coordination and visual disturbances. As the disease progresses, involuntary movements, blindness and coma may occur.