• Quereller@lemmy.one
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    3 months ago

    Is muscle tissue even infectious? (Especially when grown from a few cells) Don’t you need to eat some brain or spinal cord?

    • kronisk @lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I think the brain is only where the concentration of prions is highest and therefore the most dangerous part of an infected person to eat, but you can also get it from other body parts. But I’m no expert… haven’t eaten anyone in years actually.

    • Affidavit@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      Eating brain/spinal cord is not required to contract a prion disease; prions can also be spread through any biological medium where protein material is located, for instance, blood. This is the reason why those who have CJD or other TSEs in their family are unable to donate blood.

      This is also how vampires became extinct.

      • DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social
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        3 months ago

        The blood relative thing is kind of silly, it should be mothers only but it also bans you if your father contracted it after you were born.

        • Affidavit@lemm.ee
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          3 months ago

          The reason for that actually makes sense. It’s rarely clear how and when someone contracted a prion disease at time of diagnosis, and often it is unclear which specific prion disease a person has. While it may seem that a father contracted a prion disease after you were born, it could also be that the father has an inheritable prion disease that you too may have inherited.