Unusual resistance to ionizing radiation of the viruses of kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and scrapie.

Abstract
The titers of several preparations of kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease and scrapie viruses were reduced by only 1/10th or less by high doses of .gamma. radiation of 50 kGy [kilo gray] and by only 1/10th-1/1000th or less for 200 kGy. This unusual radiation resistance of the 2 human viruses further links them with the scrapie virus and suggests that the genetic information of all 3 viruses is considerably smaller than that of any other known viruses of mammals.