 |
 |
We also know that vCJD arises spontaneously in humans (1 in
5,000,000, I think) and is transmissible to healthy people who eat the brains
of people who have died of vCJD. (It was a custom somewhere in the
Pacific). I wonder if they screen blood for this sort of thing, or
if it is so uncommon that it’s not worth screening.
Ann Tiplady
From: UVM Beef Discussion
Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of William Gibson
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 7:02 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: U.K. confirms first case of vCJD associated with blood p...
I realize a number of you have received this already, but
others on the lists may not have.
+Willie G., Ryegate, VT
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask] ]
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 10:37 AM
To: [log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask];
[log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask];
[log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask];
[log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask];
[log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]
Subject: Fwd: Beef Issue FYI: U.K. confirms first case of vCJD
associated with blood p...
From:
[log in to unmask]
Sent:
2/17/2009 6:50:31 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
Subj:
Beef Issue FYI: U.K. confirms first case of vCJD associated with blood plasma
U.K. confirms first case of vCJD associated
with blood plasma
February 17, 2009
The
U.K.’s Health Protection Agency (HPA) confirmed today that abnormal prion
protein associated with variant CJD was found postmortem in the spleen of a
person with hemophilia. According to HPA’s
press release, the patient, who was more than 70 years old, died of
a condition unrelated to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) and had shown
no symptoms of vCJD or any other neurological condition prior to his death.
Experts say the patient may have received plasma contaminated with the abnormal
protein prion when he was treated with a blood-clotting protein from a donor in
1996 who subsequently developed vCJD. This is the first known case of a patient
contracting the abnormal prion through plasma transfusion. The vCJD abnormal
prion protein was only identified during postmortem research tests. It is
important to remember that no cases of vCJD have been connected to beef
consumed in the United States.
Media
reporting on the case include the Associated
Press, BBC News,
the Telegraph
and Forbes.
Mike Catchpole, director of HPA’s Center for Infections was quoted in the
Associated Press article as saying, “This finding does not change our
understanding of the risk from vCJD for other people in any specific way. But
it does reinforce the importance of the precautionary measures that have been
taken over the years.”
Please
keep in mind this is a human health issue. General inquiries can be directed to
BSEInfo.org, and media
request should be sent to Meghan Pusey in the Denver office.
Funded by The Beef
Checkoff
Need
a job? Find
an employment agency near you.
avast! Antivirus: Inbound
message clean.
Virus Database (VPS): 090218-0, 02/18/2009
Tested on: 2/19/2009 6:19:03 AM
avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2009 ALWIL Software.
|
avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus
Database (VPS): 090218-0, 02/18/2009 |