Certified Healthcare Leader (CHL) Exam 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

Prions are infectious agents composed solely of protein, and they are particularly concerning in healthcare due to their unique ability to resist standard sterilization procedures. Unlike bacteria and viruses, prions are not destroyed by routine reprocessing methods typically used for disinfecting medical equipment and surfaces. This resistance means that even after undergoing standard cleaning, instruments can remain infectious if they have been in contact with prion-infected tissues.

This characteristic poses a significant risk in healthcare settings, especially in surgical environments, where tools might be used across different patients. The failure to adequately eliminate prions can lead to the transmission of prion diseases, which are progressive and fatal, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Therefore, healthcare facilities must adopt specialized guidelines for handling and disposing of items that may have been exposed to prion disease to mitigate this risk effectively.

The other options do illustrate characteristics of infectious agents but do not pertain to the specific threat that prions present in healthcare contexts. For instance, while prions don’t replicate in the traditional sense like viruses or bacteria, they can induce abnormal folding of normal proteins in the brain. Their mode of transmission is also distinct and does not align with typical infectious pathways that rely on contact or antibiotics for treatment.