Patient at Emory University Hospital has confirmed CJD

Atlanta-based Emory University Hospital has confirmed that a brain surgery patient “does not have the human version of mad cow disease” but does have Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The Associated Press notes that the hospital recently issued a warning to 500 patients who may have been exposed to the disease if they came into contact with surgical instruments used on the infected patient; a hospital spokesperson says it is “extremely unlikely” that other patients would have been exposed to the disease (AP/New York Times, 10/10).