| ||||
|
|
Woman says CJD cases linked
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Although U.S. health officials say no one has gotten mad cow disease from U.S. beef, a Cinnaminson, N.J., woman says seven people who died of a closely related disease all had links to the now closed Garden State Race Track restaurant in Cherry Hill, N.J., the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Jan. 7.
The seven apparently died of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a fatal brain-wasting malady, according to a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The human version of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as mad cow disease, is a similar condition known as new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The differences between that and sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob can be definitively detected only by examining brain tissue in an autopsy, according to the newspaper.
Health experts, who the newspaper characterized as skeptical, said if a link were established between the deaths and the victims' diets, it would be the first time food has been linked to sporadic CJD.
Janet Skarbek, an accountant, said she first became interested when an acquaintance, Carrie Mahan, died of sporadic CJD in 2000 at 29, an age when the disease is exceedingly rare. Her doctors said she seemed to have either sporadic CJD or the human form of mad cow disease, the newspaper said.
Skarbek found six others who had died of CJD with links to the racetrack and its restaurant, the Inquirer reported. The track closed in 2001.
She said she contacted the CDC and the U.S. Agriculture Department.
Skarbek said she didn't hear back from CDC until a case of mad cow disease surfaced in a Washington state cow. Shortly after, she said, a CDC epidemiologist called to ask her a number of questions. The epidemiologist couldn't be reached for comment Jan. 6, according to the report.
Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the CDC, said the federal agency and the New Jersey State Health Department looked into the cluster. The cases, he said, all had sporadic CJD, the brain disease that isn't believed linked to eating infected beef.
Date: 1/15/04
Copyright 1995-2008. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com
 
| |||||||||||||||||||||
