French doctors on trial for CJD deaths Feb 7, 2008
Britain, the US and a dozen other countries banned these hormones in 1985 following the death of a 21-year-old American which suggested a possible link to the debilitating and fatal brain disease CJD. A synthetic equivalent was used instead ... In 1992, after the death of a 15-year-old from CJD in France, dozens of other families decided to sue ... The doctors and administrators, most now in their 70s and 80s, are accused of ignoring warning signs, and obscuring the dangers of CJD infection. (Guardian Unlimited)
EU treaty won't work, says Labour MP Jan 19, 2008
"So we have the first court decision, the European Court of Justice, that says, 'yes, it is part of the internal market'. And then over a number of years you get more and more decisions because cases come up, until last year when someone in England goes over to France to jump waiting lists and the courts say 'well yes, you can do that, but you need prior permission and all kinds of caveats' - but the principle is established."You then at the same time over those 10 years have things like CJD... (Guardian Unlimited)
Kansas man's death not tied to mad cow: officials Jan 18, 2008
Talk had circulated in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle market early on Wednesday that the man might have died from variant CJD, which scientists believe can be contracted by eating contaminated parts from cattle with mad cow disease. Normal CJD is naturally occurring and the Kansas Department of Health said the state averages about three cases a year ... "We have no reason to believe it is not anything but CJD," said Joe Blubaugh, spokesman for the Kansas Department of Health. (Reuters India)
Kansas Man May Have Died From Mad Cow-Related Disease Jan 17, 2008
Wesley spokesman Paul Petitte said the diagnosis for now is Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or CJD. That can be confirmed only through the testing of brain tissue, which will be done through the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center. Kansas has an average of three CJD cases a year, said Joe Blubaugh, spokesman for the state Department of Health and Environment ... Nationwide, one to two people per million have a spontaneous case of CJD each year, according to the CDC. Between 250 and... (FOXNews)
New vCJD Case Raises Fear Of Mad Cow Disease Resurge In The UK Jan 4, 2008
CJD / vCJD / Mad Cow Disease News ... Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) has killed a 39 year old woman in the UK and triggered renewed fears that a new surge of mad cow disease is on the way ... The 160 people who died of vCJD carried the MM version of a gene that codes for a type of protein known as a prion. (Medical News Today)
TSO3 gets promising preliminary results on the capacity of its Ozone Sterilizer to deactivate prions Jan 3, 2008
Prions are infectious proteins which are responsible for transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) agents such as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) (also called "Mad Cow Disease") or Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) in humans ... "The potential transmission of CJD from patient to patient via contaminated surgical instruments has been a concern worldwide for a number of years", said Dr. Neil Raven, Research Project Manager of the HPA, when the announcement was made ... "Effective... (Canada Newswire)
Red tape makes blood donors feel a threat Dec 31, 2007
My own stopping point will come when they introduce a test for CJD.. A few years back I discussed the growing restrictions with a friend who was terminally ill but who had periodic transfusions that greatly enhanced the quality of her life and her sense of wellbeing. (The Herald)
11th Case Of Mad Cow Disease Confirmed In Canada Dec 22, 2007
CJD / vCJD / Mad Cow Disease News. 11th Case Of Mad Cow Disease Confirmed In Canada. (Medical News Today)
Surgeries resume at Froedtert Dec 16, 2007
The hospital shut down its operating rooms Tuesday and Wednesday after a pathology report on a patient who underwent brain surgery and may have had Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or CJD, an incurable nervous system disorder ... When asked if any of the about 100 people who had surgeries in the time after the potential CJD patients surgery Monday have contacted the hospital with symptoms or concerns about the disease, Sieja said "not to my knowledge." The hospital is in the process of contacting all... (Greater Milwaukee Today)
Hospital suspends surgeries after Creutzfeldt-Jakob scare Dec 14, 2007
Olds, who did not work with the patient in question, said if she did have CJD, then anyone who had surgery since Monday may be at risk ... More test results showing whether the patient has CJD are expected by early next week, he said ... Neither she nor Olds would comment on where the testing that showed possible CJD was done. (Winona Daily News)
Alzheimer's disease Oct 15, 2007
Other rarer causes of dementia include progressive supranuclear palsy, Korsakoff's syndrome, Binswanger's disease, HIV and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). People with multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease can also be at an increased risk. (BBC News -- Health)
Family friend of John Gummer is killed by CJD aged 23 Oct 13, 2007
Elizabeth Smith: She learned on her 21st birthday that she had vCJD ... She first became ill in August 2004 but it was not until seven months later that she was told by doctors she had vCJD. ... He added: "One of the few comforting thoughts is that almost certainly Elizabeth's degree of awareness in the last two years of her life was minimal. Some doctors would say that vCJD is far more painful to watch than suffer.". (Daily Mail)
Warning on vCJD blood screening Sep 25, 2007
Variant CJD can be passed on in blood transfusions. An expert in the human form of "mad cow disease", variant CJD, has warned it could become endemic in the UK unless blood screening is developed quickly ... Professor James Ironside, from the National CJD Surveillance Unit in Edinburgh, said the disease was still a major threat, despite a drop in deaths. (BBC News -- Health)
The dormant but ongoing threat of vCJD Sep 25, 2007
ACROSS Edinburgh, teams of scientists are searching for answers to one of the most deadly and frightening diseases to hit the UK in recent years - variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). The National CJD Surveillance Unit at Edinburgh University is not only counting cases of the disease, thought to be caused by having eaten Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)-contaminated meat, but is also looking for clues as to how it can be stopped ... Now experts from around the world are meeting in... (Scotsman)
* CDC downplays risk of CJD from placenta injections Aug 31, 2007
CDC downplays risk of CJD from placenta injections ... Centers for Disease Control (CDC) officials said yesterday that it is "exceedingly unlikely" that a Taiwanese woman contracted Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) -- the human form of mad cow disease -- after injecting herself with placenta extract ... CDC Deputy Director Chou Chih-hao (PE) made the remarks in response to story in the Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday which reported that a woman who developed classic symptoms of... (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Business)
Chester-East Lincoln teacher dies of rare brain disorder Aug 22, 2007
However, Illinois Department of Public Health reported that there are no confirmed or suspected cases in Illinois of the type of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) known as human mad cow disease. There are various forms of CJD. In 85 percent of cases, called sporadic CJD, the cause is unknown ... Another form, called variant CJD, has been linked to contaminated beef, which has not been identified in Illinois, the Department of Public Health said. (The Pantagraph newspaper)
Outbreak costsWhat is the potential economic impact of foot-and-mouth? Aug 4, 2007
This sudden disruption to trade comes as a particular blow to cattle farmers given that exports of British beef only resumed in May last year - having been banned in 1996 after the discovery of a link between BSE in cattle and variant CJD in humans. UK farming contributed 5. (BBC News -- UK)
Doctors: we must all donate organs Jul 16, 2007
The NHS transplant website says "A person cannot become an organ or tissue donor if they have been diagnosed with HIV or have, or are suspected of having, CJD." Either donorship by default would circumvent this, or the opt-out register would need to be kept up-to-date with HIV diagnoses and CJD suspicions. Luckily, the criteria for organ donors are less stringent than those for donating blood, or the opt-out list could become a de facto register of all men who have ever had sex with a man, all... (Times Online)
Autism: the truth Jul 14, 2007
Remember the health minister that came on news at ten with his children scoffing hamburgers and said Quote; "Look everyone my children eat beef!! no way can you contract CJD Mad cow disease" only to be proven Soooo Wrong ... no way can you contract CJD Mad cow disease" only to be proven Soooo Wrong! a few years later! How can anyone trust what they say? 1 in 58 tells it all!Charles Linskaill, Edinburgh, UKAn Establishment cover-up, yet again.David, Educated Britain, UK Have your say* Your View... (Times Online)
Hopes for better vCJD diagnosis Jul 6, 2007
Scientists are perfecting a test which they hope will confirm mad cow disease (vCJD) in humans ... But the Edinburgh team has shown for the first time that it is possible to use the technique to amplify the number of vCJD prions in infected human brain tissue extracts by using normal blood cells (platelets) to drive the reaction ... Further research is needed to establish whether the technique can be applied to other tissues, such as blood, that might be used in tests for vCJD.. (BBC News -- Health)
More accurate mad cow test is developed Jul 6, 2007
The screening process for the brain condition is not completely reliable and can lead to people being wrongly told they are suffering from CJD - the human version of the disease. But researchers at Edinburgh University have come up with a way of confirming whether someone has fatal levels of abnormal proteins, thought to cause CJD. ... Prof Ironside, of the National CJD Surveillance Unit at the university, said: "By developing a reliable confirmatory test, such as this one, the impact of false... (Scotsman)
July 2: Officials fear 'wasting disease' in animals Jul 3, 2007
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) occurs naturally in about one out of every one million people worldwide. Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (v-CJD) has been associated with the large-scale outbreak of BSE in cattle herds in Great Britain ... During the period 1997-1998, three cases of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) occurred in the U.S. in young adults. (Westerly Sun, RI)
Prions key in Alzheimer's disease Jun 30, 2007
In variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), the human version of mad cow disease, the normal version of the prion protein present in brain cells is corrupted by infectious prions causing it to change shape, resulting in brain damage and death ... Due to the similarities between Alzheimer's and diseases such as variant CJD, researchers at the University of Leeds, looked for a link. (BBC News -- Health)
Veggie Booty recalled for Salmonella contamination Jun 30, 2007
Non-food Things Public health officials in Indiana are busy doing what Idaho public health officials did two years ago: claiming a cluster of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) victims is a mere coincidence. Jun 23, 2007 - 4:20:47 PM. (Food Consumer)
Keokuk County Challenges the Night for Cancer Research Jun 29, 2007
Silver - Amy's Salon House Brubaker Trucking, Central Empire Wrestling, Copper Lantern, Farmers Savings Bank-Keota, Greiner Farms-West Chester, Hackert's Wood Products, Hedrick Savings Bank, Insurance Service Group, Jack Walker CJD, KBOE, Ks, Keokuk County Health Center, Keokuk County State Bank, Keota Meat Processing, MidWestOne Bank, Piercing the Darkness Bank, Pizza Ranch-Sigourney, Sigourney Fire e, Sigourney News-Review and Tremmel Backhoe. Bronze - Bruty's Carpet Center, County Line Mart,... (Sigourney News Review, IA)
Foie gras may cause rare disease Jun 20, 2007
That would suggest that amyloidosis can be transmitted via food in a way akin to brain diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or CJD, which can cause a rare version of mad cow disease in some people who eat affected meat products or brains ... Like CJD, mad cow disease, scrapie and related diseases, amyloidosis is marked by abnormal protein fragments ... In the case of CJD, the proteins are called prions. (MSNBC -- Health)
Patients' fury over blood test 'betrayal' Jun 3, 2007
The secret blood testing for new variant CJD was discovered in the minutes of a meeting of America's Food and Drug Administration, which was attended last year by a leading member of Britain's National Institute for Biological Standards Control. The minutes revealed that the British scientist told the FDA that haemophiliac blood samples taken from the Royal Free Hospital in London would be 'provided for variant CJD analysis ... But when contacted yesterday Tuddenham said: 'Yes, we are in the... (Guardian Unlimited)
Keokuk County Designates "Relay for Life Days" Jun 2, 2007
The 2007 Corporate Sponsors include: Amy's Salon House Brubaker Trucking, Central Empire Wrestling-Austin Bayliss, Copper Lantern, Farmers Savings Bank-Keota, Gentry Insurance-FarMutual Insurance, Greiner Farms-West Chester, Hackert's Wood Products, Hedrick Savings Bank, Insurance Service Group, Jack Walker CJD, KBOE, K ds, Keokuk County Health Center, Keokuk County Publishing Company, Keokuk County State Bank, MidWestOne Bank, Piercing The Darkness Band, Prairie Mutual Insurance-FarMutual... (Sigourney News Review, IA)
Vaccine may protect against CJD May 5, 2007
Scientists say they have a vaccine that stops mice getting a brain disease similar to BSE in cattle and which may ultimately protect humans against vCJD.. Deadly prion diseases, like vCJD, are spread by consuming contaminated meat, and there is no cure or treatment ... It could be given to delay disease in people with hereditary forms of prion disease or people who have been exposed to vCJD. (BBC News -- Science)
Dental tools must not be re-used Apr 20, 2007
Dentists have been told not to re-use instruments for root canal work because of a possibility they could infect patients with variant CJD. ... Dr Barry Cockcroft, the chief dental officer for England, said: "There are no reported definite or suspected cases of vCJD transmission arising from dental procedures. "This new guidance to dentists is purely an extra precaution ... " Infection rates unclear There are approximately one million NHS endodontic treatments every year in England and Wales.... (BBC News -- Health)
Dentists warned over vCJD risk Apr 20, 2007
Dentists must not re-use instruments for root canal treatment because of a possible risk of infecting patients with variant CJD (vCJD), the Chief Dental Officer has said ... It follows early results from ongoing research by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) into the potential risks of vCJD. ... There have been no reported cases of anyone contracting vCJD from dental procedures. (Channel 4 News)
FDA Approves Cangene's Hepagam B For A Second Indication Apr 10, 2007
Products made from human plasma may carry a risk of transmitting infectious agents, e.g. viruses and, theoretically, the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease ("CJD") agent. Individuals known to have severe, potentially life-threatening reactions to human globulin should not receive HepaGam B or any other immune globulin (Human). (Playfuls.com)
FDA approves Cangene's HepaGam B(TM) for a second indication; for use in hepatitis B-positive liver transplant recipients Apr 7, 2007
Products made from human plasma may carry a risk of transmitting infectious agents, e.g. viruses and, theoretically, the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease ("CJD") agent. Individuals known to have severe, potentially life-threatening reactions to human globulin should not receive HepaGam B(TM) or any other immune globulin (Human). (PR Newswire)
Little to suggest woman had CJD Apr 4, 2007
Doctors meet patients in CJD scare ... Forty-three patients implicated in the Creutzfeldt-Jakob (CJD) scare at Auckland Hospital are meeting doctors to allay their fears about contracting the deadly brain disease ... The decision was made public on Monday and now 43 patients, 11 of them children, know they face a less than 1% risk of contracting Creuzfeld-Jacob disease, after sharing sterilised instruments last month with the suspected CJD patient. (TVNZ)
New Zealand Hospital Cancels All Neurosurgery, Fears Brain Disease Apr 3, 2007
New Zealand health authorities said Monday that a woman who had surgery in the country's biggest hospital last month may have the rare and deadly brain-wasting Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) ... News reports said that CJD could be transmitted through surgical instruments, which can transfer brain cells from one patient to another despite sterilisation ... Officials said that there had been no reports of anyone contracting CJD that way since the 1970s and it was unlikely the other patients,... (Playfuls.com)
Attention turns to how CJD patient contracted brain disease Apr 3, 2007
Health authorities are investigating whether a patient with the brain-wasting disease, CJD, contracted it from a graft from a cadaver more than 20 years ago ... The woman, who had neurosurgery at Auckland City Hospital last month, has recently developed symptoms consistent with sporadic CJD. ... Neurologist Barry Snow today described the situation after her latest surgery: "After her operation she didn't recover in the way we would have expected and that lead us to perform more investigations... (New Zealand Herald)
Australian tests to confirm NZ CJD case Apr 3, 2007
Tests are being carried out in Australia to confirm that a New Zealand woman diagnosed with Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (CJD) has contracted the fatal degenerative brain condition. Health authorities say the woman underwent surgery recently at Auckland City Hospital, but she is only now displaying symptoms she may have contracted CJD after an operation in the 1980s. (ABC News Online, Australia -- Health)
Press conference: Auckland DHB's CJD announcement Apr 2, 2007
Press conference: Auckland DHB's CJD announcement - 02 Apr 2007 - NZ Herald: New Zealand and International Health news ... Press conference: Auckland DHB's CJD announcement ... The purpose of this conference is to inform our community and the public of a rare and unusual event that occurred in our hospital concerning a patient who recently developed symptoms consistent with the diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). (New Zealand Herald)
CJD fears prompt Auckland brain surgery cancellation Apr 2, 2007
Authorities have cancelled all neurosurgery at New Zealand's biggest hospital as a precaution after a patient was recently diagnosed with the brain-wasting disease, CJD.. NZ health officials have confirmed that a woman who underwent neurosurgery last month at Auckland City Hospital recently developed symptoms consistent with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) ... Doctors say while the risk of infection is minimal they cannot guarantee the rogue protein - known as a prion - which causes CJD... (ABC News Online, Australia -- Health)
Hospital in brain tissue allegations Feb 25, 2007
Don Simms, father of a victim of variant CJD , believes the row between Dr Rossi and medical staff at Liverpool University led to a delay in getting a revolutionary treatment for his son ... Since then Jonathan has become the longest survivor of vCJD. But Simms claims that Rossi's alleged mistreatment by the university's medical school after he questioned the conduct of Warnke contributed to the delay. (Guardian Unlimited)
Diplomatic row over raw meat shipped from Matthews plant to Continent Feb 13, 2007
Six lorryloads of turkey meat sent to Hungary last week from the Bernard Matthews plant at the centre of the avian flu outbreak were raw and may have returned the H5N1 virus to Central Europe. The revelation immediately sparked a political and diplomatic row between London and Budapest. (Yahoo News -- Bird Flu)
Advisers warn of vCJD risk to dental patients Jan 27, 2007
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 ...... (Yahoo News -- Mad Cow Disease)
Livestock Roundup Jan 12, 2007
The following is the list of groups that signed the letter: National Farmers Union, Consumers Federation of America, Association of Family Farms, American Agriculture Movement Inc., American Corn Growers Association, American Meat Goat Association, Cattlemen's Legal Fund, CJD Foundation, Food and Water Watch, National Association of Counties, National Association of Farmer Elected Committees, National Catholic Rural Life Conference, National Consumers League, National Family Farm Coalition,... (Agri-View, WI)
Dramatic Results From Combo Therapy For Rapid, Fatal Neurodegenerative Disorder Jan 11, 2007
(December 4, 2006) -- BSE (more commonly known as mad cow disease) and CJD, a related disease in humans, are fatal neurodegenerative diseases caused by accumulation in the brain of an abnormally folded version (PrPsc) of. . (Science Daily)
The cows are OK ... Jan 10, 2007
When the news first broke that 'mad cow disease' could be passed to people, some scientists predicted that tens of thousands of us could eventually die of vCJD, the human form of BSE. Ten years on, the death toll stands at 160 ... Ten young people had been identified as suffering from what was to become known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), a deadly, human form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) ... More than 10 years since Dorrell's announcement, and 20 years since the first... (Guardian Unlimited)
Coroners urged to back vCJD tests to track disease Jan 8, 2007
Coroners urged to back vCJD tests to track spread of disease ... Tens of thousands of bodies subjected to postmortem examinations each year will be tested for signs of variant CJD, the human form of BSE, under proposals being drawn up by government advisers ... Experts who are anxious to establish just how many people may be unwittingly incubating the disease believe this is the best way to establish whether vCJD will continue to cause a public health threat for years to come. (Guardian Unlimited -- UK)
Gene-Engineered Cows Resist Mad Cow Disease Jan 3, 2007
The cattle lack the nervous system prions, a type of protein, that cause BSE and other related diseases such as scrapie in sheep and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, known as CJD, in humans, the researchers said ... BSE swept through British herds in the 1980s and people began developing an odd, early-onset form of CJD called variant CJD or vCJD a few years later ... CJD normally affects one in a million people globally, usually the elderly, as it has a long incubation period. (MEDLINEplus)
Cows Engineered to Lack Mad Cow Disease Jan 2, 2007
BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, known as "mad cow" disease) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, CJD). - Experts provide consumer news, analysis and commentary on mad cow disease. (SpiritIndia)
Cattle genetically engineered to avoid mad cow disease Jan 1, 2007
Mad cow disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle is believed to be caused "by propagation of misfolded forms of the normal cellular prion protein PrPC, such as PrPBSE in bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle and PrPCJD in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans," according to the researchers. People may contract variant CJD or vCJD, a deadly brain wasting disease in humans, by eating beef from cattle with mad cow disease ... Not all types of vCJD or brain wasting... (Food Consumer)
Gene-engineered cows resist mad cow disease -study Jan 1, 2007
The cattle lack the nervous system prions, a type of protein, that cause BSE and other related diseases such as scrapie in sheep and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, known as CJD, in humans, the researchers said. "(Prion-protein-negative) cattle could be a preferred source of a wide variety of bovine-derived products that have been extensively used in biotechnology, such as milk, gelatin, collagen, serum and plasma," they wrote in their report. (Reuters.uk)
Filter could stop spread of vCJD through transfusion Dec 25, 2006
The technique can effectively remove the rogue prion proteins responsible for transmitting brain diseases such as variant CJD. ... Earlier this month it was disclosed that 24 people given blood transfusions contaminated with vCJD face the awful knowledge that they are likely to succumb to the disease ... He conducted a study of three cases of patients acquiring vCJD from a blood transfusion which showed the disease was easily transmitted by this route. (Independent)
Prion Filter Could Prevent VCJD Spread From Donated Blood Dec 24, 2006
CJD / vCJD / Mad Cow Disease News. Prion Filter Could Prevent VCJD Spread From Donated Blood. (Medical News Today)
Scientists hail 'vCJD technique' Dec 23, 2006
Scientists hail 'vCJD technique ... Scrapie, which can affect sheep, is related to variant CJD. It is hoped the technique could also treat human blood ... Prion diseases, including bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) - or mad cow disease - and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), are fatal neurodegenerative diseases that occur after years of incubation with no apparent symptoms. (BBC News -- Science)
Protein 'Bar Code' In Spinal Fluid Could Lead To First Diagnostic Test For Alzheimer's Patients Dec 13, 2006
(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)
Fresh VCJD Outbreak Feared As Third Blood Infected Patient Dies Dec 11, 2006
CJD / vCJD / Mad Cow Disease News. Fresh VCJD Outbreak Feared As Third Blood Infected Patient Dies. (Medical News Today)
Mad cow scare Dec 9, 2006
"I want to stress that at this point we are talking about a potential risk. We have not confirmed a diagnosis of CJD and therefore cannot confirm that any instruments were in fact contaminated," said Cliff Nordal, president of the London Health Sciences Centre ... If the diagnosis turns out to be Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, it will almost certainly be the "classical type" and not the "variant CJD" associated with eating beef from infected cows, hospital officials said. (Edmonton Sun)
Third Case Of vCJD Linked to Transfusions Worries British ... Dec 9, 2006
Third Case Of vCJD Linked to Transfusions Worries British Authorities - CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today ... Third Case Of vCJD Linked to Transfusions Worries British Authorities ... LONDON, Dec. 8 -- A transfusion-linked case of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) here has British health authorities increasingly worried about the possibility of a mini-epidemic of the incurable disease from tainted blood. (MedPage Today)
Q&A: vCJD infections Dec 9, 2006
vCJD is a fatal brain disease. There are growing fears over the risk that vCJD, the human form of mad cow disease ... Variant CJD or vCJD is the human form of BSE. It first emerged in 1995 and has so far claimed 158 lives in the UK.. (BBC News)
Tests suggest CJD blood risk Dec 8, 2006
The study suggests red cells and plasma may have infectivity for vCJD - the human form of BSE which destroys brain tissues - but the full version of the research is not published until November ... The risk is very, very small in terms of catching vCJD through a blood transfusion ... The study's authors suggest the risk of vCJD transmission through blood may be "appreciable" where the government had previously described it as "theoretical". (BBC News -- UK)
Patients facing 'substantial' vCJD risk Dec 8, 2006
Patients' vCJD risk 'substantial. Donors and recipients have been told they may be at risk of vCJD ... The patient, the first to be diagnosed with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) while alive, has since died. (BBC News -- UK)
CJD tests negative at London hospital Dec 8, 2006
this article to your Del. 07:20 PMCANADIAN PRESSLONDON, Ont. (Toronto Star -- Ontario)
Expert warns of vCJD blood transfusion risk Dec 8, 2006
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)
