Elderly Cape Cod Woman Suffers From CJD: Did Texas Man Die From nvCJD?
Straight Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease usually affects older people and quickly progresses through dementia, movement disorders and ultimately death. About 300 Americans die from CJD each year.
So-called new variant (nv) Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease can affect people of all ages and can be caused by eating meat from cows who ate "slaughterhouse waste" like brains or spinal cords--cows infected with mad cow disease.
Only three nvCJD cases have ever been diagnosed in the United States, each patient was found to be infected outside the country.
So when you read about post death brain biopsies being ordered, its worth keeping in mind the differences between CJD and nvCJD. So for example, its was a good bet that the elderly Cap Cod woman we reported about earlier here did turn out to be one of the 300 CJD cases we see each year.
While no age was given, the profile of a Texas man who was called a world traveler might fit that of a possible nvCJD victim. The Waxahachie Daily Light had this to report on the deceased man:
Annette Rodriguez, interim director of the Corpus Christi-Nueces County Health District, said the district was notified in early July by officials from a Corpus Christi hospital that a patient may have had Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Results of a brain biopsy are expected in two months to confirm whether the man had the disease and if it is the variant linked to mad cow.
Go here for more on the Texas case, and here for Cape Cod. We be on the lookout for the results on the Texas man.
