The quantities of the prion protein excreted in the urine were extremely small, so the potential for infectivity was not addressed in this study.
Dr. Orrú’s study was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Fondazione Cariverona; the Italian Ministry of Health; the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Foundation; Programma Master and Back-Percorsi di rientro; and by donations in memory of Jeffrey Smith from Mary Hilderman Smith, Zoe Smith Jaye, and Jenny Smith Unruh. Dr. Moda’s study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, PrioNet Canada, Merck Serono, the Italian Ministry of Health, Associazione Italiana Encefalopatie da Prioni, Ministero dell’Universita e della Ricerca, the Charles S. Britton Fund, the U.K. Department of Health, and the Scottish government.