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Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/creutzfeld-jakob-disease-moncton-hospital-1.5351642
Woman is 3rd person this year diagnosed with Creutzfeld-Jakob disease at the Moncton Hospital
Shepody woman is 3rd person diagnosed with fatal disease at the hospital this year
Tori Weldon ? CBC News ? Posted: Nov 12, 2019 5:00 AM AT | Last Updated: 35 minutes ago
Diana Paterson is not sure how much longer she has to live.
In June, she was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, known as CJD, after showing signs of the fatal illness for several months.
Art Paterson, speaking with his wife's permission, said Diana now suffers symptoms of dementia, which came on quickly...
...Dr. Gordon Dow, division head of infectious diseases at the Moncton Hospital, said even he was shocked when another case of CJD was discovered.
'Flabbergasted'
"I was flabbergasted initially when I saw that we had three cases of this rare disease in a small city the size of Moncton," Dow said.
He immediately contacted the Public Health Agency of Canada, which runs a national surveillance system for the disease. He said the agency scrutinized each case, and he believes there is no need for people to panic.
"I think even though there's the overwhelming weight of evidence suggesting that we've had a cluster of sporadic cases, there is no need for public alarm," Dow said.
"This is not an indication that there's been an outbreak of CJD."
Dow said he found several factors that could explain why Moncton is seeing an increase in CJD diagnoses...
Woman is 3rd person this year diagnosed with Creutzfeld-Jakob disease at the Moncton Hospital
Shepody woman is 3rd person diagnosed with fatal disease at the hospital this year
Tori Weldon ? CBC News ? Posted: Nov 12, 2019 5:00 AM AT | Last Updated: 35 minutes ago
Diana Paterson is not sure how much longer she has to live.
In June, she was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, known as CJD, after showing signs of the fatal illness for several months.
Art Paterson, speaking with his wife's permission, said Diana now suffers symptoms of dementia, which came on quickly...
...Dr. Gordon Dow, division head of infectious diseases at the Moncton Hospital, said even he was shocked when another case of CJD was discovered.
'Flabbergasted'
"I was flabbergasted initially when I saw that we had three cases of this rare disease in a small city the size of Moncton," Dow said.
He immediately contacted the Public Health Agency of Canada, which runs a national surveillance system for the disease. He said the agency scrutinized each case, and he believes there is no need for people to panic.
"I think even though there's the overwhelming weight of evidence suggesting that we've had a cluster of sporadic cases, there is no need for public alarm," Dow said.
"This is not an indication that there's been an outbreak of CJD."
Dow said he found several factors that could explain why Moncton is seeing an increase in CJD diagnoses...