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Professor John Collinge made the assessment after investigating cases of people known to have acquired variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) from a blood transfusion. Writing in the medical journal the Lancet, he said blood transfusions seemed to be an efficient route for transmitting the infectious prion proteins believed to cause vCJD. ... Doctors know of 66 people who were given the disease by contaminated blood, three of whom died of vCJD. Twenty-four of those are sill alive and at... (Guardian Unlimited -- UK)
Scientist warns of new CJD outbreak Dec 8, 2006
A second wave of variant CJD cases could be on the way, scientists have warned ... Prof Collinge, from the Medical Research Council's Prion Unit, said: "That three individuals from this small group of people that we know to have been exposed through blood transfusion have already developed vCJD infection suggests that the infection may be efficiently passed by this route, so the risk to remaining individuals is likely to be substantial. "A national tonsil tissue screening study being performed... (ITV.com)
Hospital awaits test on brain-wasting disease Dec 7, 2006
Michael John, the hospital's medical director of infection prevention and control, called CJD a "one in a million" disease, but said doctors aren't taking any chances ... Staff first became aware of the problem late Monday afternoon, when a brain biopsy showed a patient might have CJD. Because of privacy regulation, Dr. John could not give any personal information about the patient ... Patients usually undergo risk assessment before brain surgery to see how likely they are to have diseases such... (Globe and Mail)
London surgeries still on hold amid CJD fears Dec 7, 2006
A Public Health Agency official says it's not suspected to be a case of variant CJD -- a rare form in humans which is linked to mad cow disease. Naturally occurring "sporadic CJD'' is the most common form of the disease in Canada. A patient who had brain surgery at the London hospital on Nov. 30 has been identified as possibly having CJD. The patient remains in stable condition, and hospital officials are trying to contact patients who may have come into contact with the instruments that were... (CTV.ca)
New Research Sheds Light On Stroke Development Dec 7, 2006
(February 10, 2005) -- Diffusion-weighted MRI is "extremely useful" in detecting Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a close cousin of "mad cow" disease, very early in its progression--even before the onset of characteristic. . (Science Daily)
CJD closes operating theatres in Canada Dec 7, 2006
All surgery at a hospital in Ontario Canada has been halted after it was discovered that a patient undergoing neurosurgery on November 30th may have had the fatal brain-wasting disease Creutzfeldt-Jakob (CJD) ... CJD is a disease caused by protein-like particles called prions which attack the brain, killing cells and creating gaps in tissue; it is always fatal and anyone can potentially develop it ... There are two main types of CJD; classical and variant. (News-Medical.net)
FEDS: Third mad cow case reported... Dec 6, 2006
The man, whose case was reported to the CDC by the Virginia Department of Health, has variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease, or vCJD, the CDC said on its Web site ... gov/ncidod/dvrd/vcjd/other/vCJD_112906 ... BSE swept through British herds in the 1980s, and people began developing an odd, early-onset form of CJD a few years later. (The Drudge Report)
Hospital halts surgery over fear of deadly brain malady Dec 6, 2006
Still, they moved fast to minimize the possible spread of infection after learning that tissues taken from a patient who had surgery last week at the University Hospital were raising concerns about CJD, a fatal disease that affects the central nervous system ... Neil Cashman, an expert in protein diseases, said that normal hospital sterilization methods aren't enough to remove the infectious risk of CJD, which is caused by the mutation of normally occurring prions found in the brain ... Dr.... (Globe and Mail -- National)
Silencing The Cause Of Mad Cow Disease Dec 5, 2006
BSE (more commonly known as mad cow disease) and CJD, which is a related disease in humans that can occur spontaneously, be inherited, or be acquired (in some cases probably from cows with BSE), are fatal neurodegenerative diseases ... This study therefore provides hope that RNAi might provide a new approach for the development of a therapeutic to treat individuals and animals with neurodegenerative disorders such as CJD and BSE. However, as Qingzhong Kong from Case Western Reserve University... (Science Daily)
Revamp of brain 'could slow CJD' Dec 4, 2006
Revamp of brain 'could slow CJD. CJD is caused by abnormal proteins ... Tests in mice with scrapie - a disease similar to CJD in humans and BSE in cattle - showed the life-extending treatment works. (BBC News -- Health)
Mark Purdey — farmer Nov 20, 2006
It was Stanley Prusiner, Professor of Neurology at the University of California, who first put forward the idea that transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) diseases of all kinds, including CJD, BSE and scrapie in sheep, were caused by proteins called prions that folded abnormally and corrupted the molecules around them. He also demonstrated that when TSE-diseased brain tissues were injected into laboratory animals, those animals also contracted the disease. (TimesOnline)
Google could 'help doctors diagnose illness' Nov 13, 2006
They included Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), Cushing's syndrome (a hormonal disorder), acute chest syndrome and Churg-Strauss syndrome (an autoimmune disease). The researchers selected three to five search terms from each case and did a Google search on each, while "blind" to the correct diagnoses. (Daily Mail - UK)
Google Good Source For Doctors To Diagnose Hard Cases Nov 13, 2006
They found 26 hard-to-diagnose cases which had been published in the NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine), such as Cushing's syndrome and CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease). Using 3-5 search terms, the doctors carried out a Google search for each case, without knowing beforehand what the correct diagnosis was. (Medical News Today)
Google 'aids doctors' diagnoses' Nov 10, 2006
These included (CJD) Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the hormonal condition Cushing's syndrome and the auto-immune disorder Churg-Strauss syndrome. The team led by Dr Hangwi Tang, a respiratory and sleep physician, said Google could be a "useful aid" diagnosing for conditions with unique symptoms and signs that can easily be used as search terms. (BBC News)
A Potential Anti-prion Drug With 'Unprecedented' Potency Nov 1, 2006
Prions are infectious proteins that cause brain disorders like Mad Cow Disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) in humans ... (May 15, 2000) -- German scientists have developed a novel, highly sensitive technique for the detection of prions, the infectious agents of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and BSE. By this method, single prion. (Science Daily)
Doctors attack mobile phone rules Oct 13, 2006
They add: "Mobile phones arrived in an age when safety concerns were high and various restrictions were imposed - for example bans on beef during the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) scare. "Mobile phones are an easy target in a precautionary climate that demands proof something is not dangerous rather than grounds that it is. " The new MHRA regulations say a total ban on mobiles is unnecessary. But they say phones must be switched off near critical care of life support equipment. However, they... (BBC News -- UK)
New Technology To Speed Up Research Into Huntington's Disease Oct 10, 2006
It is hoped the screen will also allow researchers to study more effectively the cognitive difficulties in other neurodegenerative disorders such as in Alzheimer's and CJD.. Huntington's disease is a genetic disease affecting around 8 in 100,000 people. (Science Daily)
Natural Protective Mechanism Against Neuronal Death In Alzheimer's Found Sep 12, 2006
Researchers have uncovered what appears to be a natural protective mechanism against a central cause of neuronal death in Alzheimer's and similar neurodegenerative diseases. They theorize that it may be possible to use drugs to enhance that mechanism, to alleviate Alzheimer's pathology. (Science Daily)
Human variant of mad cow disease suspected in UK man Aug 31, 2006
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) is the human form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) seen in cattle ... In humans BSE takes the form of a variant CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease) ... The onset of illness in the first case of vCJD occurred in early 1994, nearly a decade after the first case of BSE was recognized in cattle. (Food Consumer)
Health Highlights: Aug. 25, 2006 Aug 26, 2006 Canada Confirms Eighth Case Of Mad-Cow Disease Aug 25, 2006 United Kingdom Aug 16, 2006 New Biomarkers Could Help Doctors Spot Alzheimer's And Other Neurodegenerative Diseases Aug 15, 2006 New Research Points Toward Mechanism Of Age-onset Toxicity Of Alzheimer's Protein Aug 12, 2006 - Iain Hollingshead Jul 29, 2006 Seventh Case Of Mad Cow Disease Confirmed In Canada Jul 16, 2006 vCJD drug 'does not stop disease' Jul 12, 2006 Prion Disease Agent Causes Heart Damage In Mouse Study Jul 8, 2006 Studies Suggest Blood Test Possible for Mad Cow Jul 8, 2006 CJD blood test 'a step closer' Jul 7, 2006 Surgical instruments may put lives at risk Jul 7, 2006 Report sparks new fears over CJD Jun 24, 2006 CJD Incubation Period May Well Be Over 60 Years Jun 24, 2006 'Timebomb' fears discounted Jun 23, 2006 The Netherlands reports second human case of mad cow disease Jun 23, 2006 Mad cow out of the blue Jun 19, 2006 US mad cow instances are abnormal, spontaneous cases Jun 13, 2006 Fears increase on transmitting human form of BSE May 26, 2006 New CJD Health Warning May 21, 2006 Colo. patient dies of rare brain disease May 20, 2006 Hospital exposes patients to brain disease May 19, 2006 Six face remote risk of rare brain disease May 19, 2006 Tests raise fear of more CJD deaths May 19, 2006 Thousands more could be carrying vCJD, say scientists May 19, 2006 Advisers warn of vCJD risk to dental patients May 9, 2006 British blood exports present vCJD risk May 2, 2006 Mad cow scare in Warrenton Apr 26, 2006 Transplanted Nerve Tissue Can Cause Human 'Mad Cow' Disease Apr 21, 2006 Scientists warn of high rate of vCJD infection Apr 21, 2006 Cow Suspected Of Having Mad Cow Disease (BSE) In Canada Apr 16, 2006 - Jackie Ashley: Don't panic over one dead swan Apr 10, 2006 CJD 'poses threat to thousands' Mar 27, 2006 'Red tape' in vCJD compensation Mar 27, 2006 vCJD transmission 'risk for all' Mar 27, 2006 Scots team finds dormant CJD could emerge to claim many more lives Mar 27, 2006 British beef is back on world menu Mar 9, 2006 Infection 'Alarm' Yields Clues To Immune System Behavior Feb 25, 2006 - The truth about bird flu Feb 22, 2006 UK Finds Third Blood-Linked Human Mad Cow Case Feb 11, 2006 Athletes 'risking health to win' Feb 9, 2006 Former science chief: 'My MMR fears coming true' Feb 7, 2006 Gov't to pay for autopsies in suspected Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease cases Jan 28, 2006 Kyodo news summary Jan 28, 2006 Venison may carry mad cow-like agent: study Jan 27, 2006 Blood of bird flu victims to create vaccine Jan 15, 2006
Sterilized Surgical Instruments May Still Have CJD Proteins. Even after sterilization, surgical instruments may still be contaminated with proteins that cause Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a fatal degenerative brain disorder, says a study by researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland ... It's believed that CJD is caused by mutated proteins called prions, which are known to be able to cling to the surface of surgical instruments, BBC News reported. (Forbes)
Sterilisation 'may not kill CJD' Aug 25, 2006
Sterilisation 'may not kill CJD ... A survey has found that surgical instruments still have the potential to harbour CJD even after sterilisation ... CJD CJD is the commonest form of human prion disease There are different types, including sporadic CJD and variant CJD, which is linked to BSE All forms of CJD are progressive neurological disorders which are fatal and for which there is no cure In the UK, there are between 50 and 65 deaths each year from sporadic CJD So far, there have been more... (BBC News -- Health)
CJD / vCJD / Mad Cow Disease News. Canada Confirms Eighth Case Of Mad-Cow Disease. (Medical News Today)
In an attempt to stop the spread of CJD, officials asked people who have lived in Britain to refrain from giving blood. of England banned the use of among her retainers. (Harper's Magazine)
(February 22, 2005) -- A highly sensitive post-mortem test could help scientists more accurately determine if a person died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a human neurological disorder caused by the same class of. . (Science Daily)
(April 24, 2003) -- UC Irvine researchers have discovered an important similarity in the causes of cell degeneration and death in diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, type II diabetes and CJD. . (Science Daily)
This shift from panic to complacency is fairly typical of health scares - viz bird flu, salmonella, CJD, etc. Not everyone has forgotten, however, and a handful of cases are still reported. (Guardian Unlimited)
CJD / vCJD / Mad Cow Disease News ... It is suspected that eating contaminated meat may raise a human's risk of developing CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease), the human form of mad cow disease ... Some experts say the incubation period for CJD may be more than 50 years. (Medical News Today)
vCJD drug 'does not stop disease ... An experimental drug probably does not stop the progression of the brain disease vCJD, experts have concluded ... The MRC monitored the effect of Pentosan Polysulphate (PPS) on seven patients with vCJD or other degenerative prion diseases. (BBC News -- Health)
(October 22, 2005) -- Research at Yale University School of Medicine shows that infection with a weak strain of Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease (CJD) prevents infection by more virulent strains and that the protection requires. . (Science Daily)
It could also screen people, including blood or organ donors, for the rare but devastating Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), the researchers said ... Mad cow disease is another name for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and is part of the family of prion diseases that includes scrapie in sheep, chronic wasting disease in deer and elk, and CJD in people ... Some people who ate infected beef products developed vCJD and at least 191 cases have been... (MEDLINEplus)
CJD blood test 'a step closer. vCJD is likely to be transmitted via blood ... More work is needed before a similar test could be used in humans, but the findings offer hope of a screening test for vCJD, Science reports. (BBC News -- Health)
It introduced rules to improve cleaning, tracing and quarantining of equipment in 2000, and tightened them in 2003 after a CJD scare at Middlesbrough general hospital ... But advisers drawing up draft guidance on preventing cross-infection with CJD diseases found hospitals were still failing to keep separate instrument sets ... No system of decontamination will yet completely remove the prion proteins associated with CJD infections but proper cleaning, brushing and high pressure sterilisation... (Guardian Unlimited -- UK)
"A human BSE epidemic may be multiphasic, and recent estimates of the size of the vCJD epidemic based on uniform genetic susceptibility could be substantial underestimations" - Professor John Collinge ... Researchers think variant CJD can now stay dormant for more than 50 years. (ITV.com)
As the CJD incubation period may be over 60 years, we could be decades away from an epidemic, say researchers from University College London and scientists from Australia and Papua New Guinea ... Kuru has very similar symptoms to CJD, and like CJD, is caused by a prion ... As BSE-contaminated beef was consumed during the 1990s, the number of humans developing CJD may not be known until we are half way into the present century. (Medical News Today)
vCJD timebomb' fears discounted. Scientists are learning more about how vCJD affects people ... The research, which appears in the Journal of the Royal Society, said thousands of people could carry vCJD, but show no symptoms. (BBC News -- Health)
By definition, the human variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) or the human form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) can only be acquired by eating meat from cattle with BSE, the brain waiting disease in bovines. Another form of human mad cow disease called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is believed to occur naturally in humans at about one in a million of populations or less ... The US government says some 150 people are diagnosed CJD each year in the US, but the number might be... (Food Consumer)
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) is the most common human form of prion disease. In almost 90% of U.S. cases, the prions spontaneously appear in the brain of CJD victims ... Another 5% to 10% of CJD cases are tied to a genetic mutation. (USA Today -- News)
When human beings consume meat which is contaminated with BSE they may contract a form of Creutz-Jakob Disease (CJD), usually afflicting younger people. However, there are cases of people developing another form of CJD which is not related to mad cow and which occurs spontaneously, generally affecting older people. (Earthtimes.org)
Two people are already thought to have developed vCJD because of blood transfusion and a third has shown signs of infection in her spleen and lymph nodes, despite dying of other causes ... James Ironside, of the CJD surveillance unit, Edinburgh, and lead author of the study, said: "Human exposure to BSE in the 1980s and early 1990s was extensive in the UK, yet we have seen relatively few cases of vCJD. Either things like the species barrier were more protective [of humans] than we thought, or... (Guardian Unlimited -- Life)
More people could be susceptible to vCJD infection than has been feared, a new study suggests ... But DNA tests by National CJD Surveillance Unit scientists show those with another gene type are also at risk ... To date, 161 cases of vCJD (variant Creutzfeld Jakob disease) have been reported in the UK, 18 in France and 12 in the rest of the world, most of those of UK origin. (Life Style Extra)
Classic CJD occurs sporadically, appearing in about one in 1 million people in the United States each year, according to the CDC Web site. It progresses quickly and is always fatal. (Herald Online, SC -- Health)
One patient has tested positive for Creuzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), and six others were operated on with the same instruments between Feb. 13 and March 14 ... CJD is rare -- only one in 1 million people worldwide have been diagnosed, and transmission by exposure to tissue or spinal fluid is even rarer ... When Littleton operated on the infected patient, it didn't know it was dealing with CJD because the patient's initial symptoms weren't consistent with the disease. (Denver Business Journal, CO)
In fact, Crane said, there has been no documented case of anyone getting CJD from a surgical instrument since the 1970s, when sterilization procedures were improved ... In the St. Joseph case, six patients were operated on with instruments used on a patient that doctors later learned had died of CJD. None of those six have shown symptoms of CJD, St. Joseph officials say ... At St. Joseph, when surgery is done on a patient whose neurological disease is unknown, the instruments are set aside until... (Rocky Mountain News)
James Ironside, professor of Clinical Neuropathology of the National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit at University of Edinburgh, said: "Studies such as this are essential to the continuing effort to control the extent of the epidemic and highlight the urgent need for ongoing surveillance for vCJD. They also pose challenges to health officials who have to formulate policies comprising difficult trade-offs based on uncertain evidence.". Variant CJD was discovered in the UK 10 years... (Guardian Unlimited -- UK)
The brain disease variant CJD, triggered by eating BSE-infected meat, may have infected thousands more people than previously thought, scientists say ... The warning comes from researchers at the National CJD Surveillance Unit at the University of Edinburgh who checked more than 12,000 samples of tissue from tonsils and appendices removed in operations between 1996 and 1999 ... Two samples harboured prion proteins - indicating vCJD infection - taken from people with a genetic make-up that had... (Independent)
The scientists have told health ministers to consider banning the reuse of the equipment needed because of "hypothetical but plausible scenarios" which suggest that person-to person cases of variant CJD might follow the shrinking number of animal-to-human cases ... Now the independent expert committee on BSE and variant CJD, known as Seac, says "sufficiently rigorous" decontamination is difficult for the relatively unsophisticated dental instruments used to examine the pulp in teeth cavities ...... (Guardian Unlimited)
British blood products may pose vCJD risk in 14 countries ... Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show that patients in Brazil and Turkey are most at risk from the products, although it is too early to know how many, if any, foreign patients may develop the incurable variant CJD, as it takes many years to appear ... Twenty-eight people abroad have already developed vCJD by eating cattle meat from Britain infected with BSE. However, the dangers of another route of transmission... (Guardian Unlimited)
A "variant form" of CJD is "believed to be caused by eating contaminated beef products from BSE-affected cattle.". According to the USDA there have been 155 "confirmed and probable" cases of vCJD worldwide among hundreds of thousands of people that "may have consumed BSE-contaminated beef products.". (Loudoun Times Mirror, VA)
THURSDAY, April 20 (HealthDay News) -- Between 1970 and 2003, transplanted human tissue was responsible for a total of seven cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) -- the human form of mad cow disease -- in the U.K., a new study finds. Researchers at the National CJD Surveillance Unit at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh said the seven cases were caused by transplanted human dura mater -- the outermost, toughest and most fibrous of the three membranes covering the brain and spinal cord... (Health-Finder)
A "significant level" of the population could be unknowingly infected with variant CJD, according to scientists whose study reveals the disease to be more easily transmitted than previously thought. The debate about the number of people infected by vCJD - the human form of BSE - has ranged from estimates of a few hundred to hundreds of thousands ... Some people are understood to be more genetically susceptible to the disease but the study published today by Lancet Neurology shows that mice with... (Yahoo News -- Mad Cow Disease)
Many experts argue there is no (or virtually no) risk, while others say it is too early to tell, as we do not know what the incubation period for CJD is (the human version of BSE). Written by: Christian Nordqvist Editor: Medical News Today. (Medical News Today)
The science suggesting that the disease could be passed to humans was strong, and indeed new variant CJD has killed 155 people in Britain, though the peak year for deaths (28) was in 2000 and so far this year there have been just two. That is awful, but it is a lot less awful than the estimates of deaths we heard then, ranging up to a "time bomb" of 130,000 people with the fatal brain infection. (Guardian Unlimited)
CJD 'poses threat to thousands ... "All individuals could be susceptible to secondary transmission of vCJD through routes such as blood transfusion" - research team ... CJD 'poses threat to thousands' 7. (ITV.com)
Red tape' in vCJD compensation. The exact number of vCJD cases is uncertain ... A Devon mother whose teenage daughter died from the brain disease variant CJD (vCJD) six years ago is still waiting for compensation. (BBC News -- Health)
vCJD transmission 'risk for all. One gene type has accounted for virtually all vCJD cases ... Everyone could be susceptible to vCJD infection via blood transfusions but their genes could determine how it will affect them, a study suggests. (BBC News -- Health)
New study claims vCJD may lie dormant without symptoms ... Fears that underlying vCJD may lead to second wave of deaths ... Through studies on mice, they concluded that variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (vCJD) could lie in the body for many years without showing any symptoms. (Scotsman)
" Around 150 people have contracted Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) from infected meat since May 1990. The most recent analysis suggests that the infection has passed its peak. The ban was partially lifted in 1999, technically making it possible for Britain to export some beef but the existance of restrictions made trade complex and tainted sales. Brussels considered lifting the ban in September 2005 after experts said the number of cases in Britain of bovine spongiform encephalopathy had... (Times Online)
Posted: February 24, 2006. Drawing on lab experiments and computer studies, Johns Hopkins researchers have learned how a common protein delivers its warning message to cells when an infectious agent invades the body. (Science Daily)
Ten years ago next month, the government first reported a link between the cattle disease bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and its human equivalent Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD); five years ago this week, the cull began of millions of sheep and cows suspected to have foot and mouth disease; and three years ago, severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) threatened global health ... Daszak, who helped connect Asian bats in China with Sars, says diseases such as Sars, Ebola, BSE, CJD,... (Guardian Unlimited)
The case of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) was diagnosed in a patient who had received a transfusion eight years ago ... Variant CJD is the human equivalent of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease, linked to eating meat infected with BSE. ... Britain has recorded 160 cases of vCJD, of whom 154 have since died. (Planet Ark, United States)
" Growth hormones (GH) are proving particularly difficult for anti-doping authorities to spot and also carry enormous risk. GH are produced naturally in the body, where it promotes the growth of new muscle cells and increases the production of an insulin-type growth factor. This in turn influences muscle, nerve, cartilage, bone and lung cells. But some athletes take GH, often harvested from human cadavers, in quantities that would boost natural levels five or 10 times. Testing increased Although... (BBC News)
" 'Why isn't the Government taking this massive public health problem more seriously?' Dr Fletcher said he found "this official complacency utterly inexplicable" in the light of an explosive worldwide increase in regressive autism and inflammatory bowel disease in children, which was first linked to the live measles virus in the MMR jab by clinical researcher Dr Andrew Wakefield in 1998. "When scientists first raised fears of a possible link between mad cow disease and an apparently new, variant... (Daily Mail - UK)
(Kyodo) _ The health ministry plans to provide 250,000 yen to subsidize each autopsy of a person suspected to have died from sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease to confirm whether they died from that or variant CJD, which is linked to mad cow disease, ministry officials said Saturday ... An autopsy is necessary to distinguish sporadic CJD from variant CJD, which is linked to exposure, probably through eating, to cattle infected with mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, in order... (Kyodo, Japan)
TOKYO - The health ministry plans to provide 250,000 yen to subsidize each autopsy of a person suspected to have died from sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease to confirm whether they died from that or variant CJD, which is linked to mad cow disease, ministry officials said Saturday. The subsidy will be covered by a concerned prefecture as well as the central government starting in April. (Kyodo, Japan)
Chronic wasting disease is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), one of a family of diseases that includes scrapie in sheep, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, in cattle and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in people ... There is no evidence people can catch CWD. But after BSE swept British cattle herds in the 1980s, people began coming down with an odd version of CJD called vCJD, and it has been linked to eating infected beef ... In Britain, 153 people have... (Reuters UK -- Health)
But officials are carrying out risk assessments of the potential dangers of vCJD versus the potential life-saving benefits of passive immunisation. A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said: "The department is aware of the issue and we are looking to see if there is some way of overcoming the CJD regulations. "There has been no decision made yet, but the report is being considered by the department before it goes before parliament. (Scotsman.com)
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