PURPOSE: Provided are antibodies which bind specifically to prions of human origin and a method for detecting pathogenic prions, in particular causative agents of spongiform encephalopathy. CONSTITUTION: An antibody for specifically detecting pathogenic prions of human origin characteristically binds to an epitope which is characteristic for a human prion protein and not found in the prion proteins of other species, such as the cow, the Syrian Gold hamster, the mouse or the rat.
Antibodies for specifically detecting pathogenic prions of human origin, and detection methods carried out using these antibodies