Prion diseases continue to fascinate scientists from different disciplines since the discovery that a misfolded prion protein can act as an infectious agent. Infectious prions have caused epidemics, including kuru in humans, cervid chronic wasting disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or "mad cow disease", and most recently, camel prion disease, which was identified in 2018 (1). In Kuru, spread of the disease occurred from the ingestion of prion-infected, dead relatives as part of mourning practices, whereas in chronic wasting disease, prions may be transmitted not only through ingesting prion-contaminated food, but also by exposure to a prion-contaminated environment(8, 9). In all instances, prions hold structural properties that cause different disease presentations, which can be passed on to another individual (16). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
