Does BSE cause new variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (nvCJD) in humans?
CJD is a slow progressive disease of humans that affects the central nervous system, causing dysfunction, progressive dementia, and death. CJD occurs throughout the world at a rate of about 1-2 cases per million people per year. There has been a major change in CJD in Britain since the outbreak of BSE in cattle. This change has been the recognition of a new variant CJD or nvCJD in humans. To date, there have been more than 70 cases of nvCJD recognized in humans in Britain and one case in France. The exact cause of this new form of the disease is not entirely known; however, circumstantial evidence suggests that BSE may be involved. It is this possibility that nvCJD could jump the “species boundary” from cattle to humans that has everyone so nervous. The abnormal protein in the brain of nvCJD patients and the abnormal protein in the brain of BSE cattle appear closely related. While the exact relationship between BSE and nvCJD is not fully understood, the prudent course has been to assum
