Canadian health officials confirmed yesterday [Thursday] that the first Canadian has fallen victim to the human form of mad cow disease, known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (vCJD).
They added that the affected Saskatchewan man, who died earlier this summer, is believed to have contracted the disease during multiple long-term stays in the UK in the 1980s and 1990s, when he regularly ate processed meals. He became ill earlier this year, but vCJD was suspected in April. The diagnosis was confirmed this week with the results of tests conducted at the University of Toronto and in the UK.
Fears have been raised however as doctors confirmed that a medical instrument used to treat the man was also used on 71 other people, putting them at a small risk of infection. The disease is spread by prions and can lie dormant for up to 15 years before symptoms appear.
Dr. Antonio Giulivi, head of the health care acquired infection department of Health Canada, insisted to the National Post: “There is no reason to believe there is any danger to Canadian livestock or the Canadian food supply.”
