Man tested for human mad cow disease
Clara Pirani, Medical reporter
October 12, 2006
NSW health authorities are conducting tests to confirm if a hospital patient died as the result of a brain disease that may have infected other patients.
Doctors at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle began to suspect on Tuesday that a middle-aged man who died on Wednesday had Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease - the human form of mad cow disease.
The man was admitted to hospital 10 weeks ago, suffering neurological symptoms including severe headaches and involuntary muscle movements, and underwent several operations.
Hunter New England Health director of clinical operations, Nigel Lyons, said the likelihood that the patient had CJD was "very remote".
Initial results of a brain biopsy were negative for CJD, however further tests to rule out the disease will take 10 days to complete.
"We sent the brain biopsy down to a specialist at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and he said it showed no signs of CJD so that's an encouraging sign," Dr Lyons said.
"It's 95 per cent likely that it's not CJD, but it will take 10 days to perform further tests that will completely rule it out.
"There is no evidence at this stage that the patient had CJD and he did not have any typical symptoms of the disease.
"However, as his condition could not be definitively diagnosed, CJD cannot be excluded as a remote cause for his condition.''
Dr Lyons said the CJD germ was very difficult to destroy, even through rigorous cleaning and sterilisation of medical equipment. However, he said there had been no transmissions of the disease through surgical instruments around the world since 1980.
Surgical instruments used at the hospital during the past 10 weeks have been quarantined to limit any potential risk of infection to other surgical patients.
If tests confirm the patient had CJD, health authorities will need to contact patients who had surgery at the hospital during the past 10 weeks.
"If there is a diagnosis of CJD, then we will need to go back and have a look at everyone who has had potential contact with instruments since the surgery was performed," Dr Lyons said.
Clara Pirani, Medical reporter
October 12, 2006
NSW health authorities are conducting tests to confirm if a hospital patient died as the result of a brain disease that may have infected other patients.
Doctors at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle began to suspect on Tuesday that a middle-aged man who died on Wednesday had Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease - the human form of mad cow disease.
The man was admitted to hospital 10 weeks ago, suffering neurological symptoms including severe headaches and involuntary muscle movements, and underwent several operations.
Hunter New England Health director of clinical operations, Nigel Lyons, said the likelihood that the patient had CJD was "very remote".
Initial results of a brain biopsy were negative for CJD, however further tests to rule out the disease will take 10 days to complete.
"We sent the brain biopsy down to a specialist at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and he said it showed no signs of CJD so that's an encouraging sign," Dr Lyons said.
"It's 95 per cent likely that it's not CJD, but it will take 10 days to perform further tests that will completely rule it out.
"There is no evidence at this stage that the patient had CJD and he did not have any typical symptoms of the disease.
"However, as his condition could not be definitively diagnosed, CJD cannot be excluded as a remote cause for his condition.''
Dr Lyons said the CJD germ was very difficult to destroy, even through rigorous cleaning and sterilisation of medical equipment. However, he said there had been no transmissions of the disease through surgical instruments around the world since 1980.
Surgical instruments used at the hospital during the past 10 weeks have been quarantined to limit any potential risk of infection to other surgical patients.
If tests confirm the patient had CJD, health authorities will need to contact patients who had surgery at the hospital during the past 10 weeks.
"If there is a diagnosis of CJD, then we will need to go back and have a look at everyone who has had potential contact with instruments since the surgery was performed," Dr Lyons said.