Mad cow disease kills mother and son
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The mother of a Spanish man who died from the human form of mad cow
disease has also died from the illness, Spain's Ministry of Health says.
It is believed to be the first case in the world where 2 members of
the same family have died from mad cow disease, said Juan Jose
Badiola, director of Spain's national research center for mad cow
disease. Until now, Badiola added, clinical evidence that he's seen
from the United Kingdom and France -- which have had the most deaths
due to the human form of mad cow disease -- had not recorded 2 cases
in a single family.
The mother, in her early 60s, died last month [August 2008]. The
government confirmed Wednesday [24 Sep 2008] that it was because of
mad cow disease but did not, by custom, make her name public. Her
son, 41, died in February [2008] from the same disease, Badiola said.
The latest confirmed case makes a total of 4 deaths in Spain from mad
cow disease since 2005. Three of these cases in Spain were in the
same northern province, Leon, which is another unusual aspect that
will be studied, Badiola said.
Ten years can pass between eating contaminated tissue and the
appearance of the human form of the disease, called variant
Creutzfeldt Jakob disease, health officials say. The health ministry
said there is no danger from eating meat in Spain, because of
existing controls. The steps to avoid the disease, taken after the
1st cases of mad cow disease appeared in the United Kingdom, included
isolating infected animals and prohibiting cattle feed of animal
origin or with animal proteins, the ministry said.
"The appearance of these sporadic cases is within the predictions
that were made at the European level more than eight years ago," the
ministry statement said. Badiola said that it's likely the mother
and son contracted the disease before stricter controls against mad
cow disease began in 2001 in Spain. The pair had similar eating
habits, Badiola said, which included eating animal organs, such as
kidneys and livers, and they may also have eaten animal brains.
Researchers will try to determine whether the mother and son shared a
genetic structure that might have been more prone to contracting the
illness, Badiola said. The family's home was in a village near the
provincial capital of Leon, 333 kilometers (206 miles) northwest of
Madrid. The other case in that province was of a woman, 50, who was a
local government worker in the provincial capital. She died in
December [2007] from mad cow disease. The 1st confirmed death from
mad cow disease in Spain was in 2005, when a young woman died near Madrid.
In addition to the cases in Spain, as of June [2008] the following
numbers of cases of human mad cow disease had been reported: 167 in
the United Kingdom; 23 in France; 4 in Ireland; 3 in the United
States; 2 each in Netherlands and Portugal; and one each in Canada,
Italy, Japan and Saudi Arabia. Two of the 3 U.S. cases, 2 of the 4
cases in Ireland and the single cases in Canada and Japan were people
probably exposed to the mad cow agent while residing in the United
Kingdom, officials have said. One of the 23 French cases may also
have been infected in the United Kingdom.
(By From Al Goodman)
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
------------------------------------------------
The mother of a Spanish man who died from the human form of mad cow
disease has also died from the illness, Spain's Ministry of Health says.
It is believed to be the first case in the world where 2 members of
the same family have died from mad cow disease, said Juan Jose
Badiola, director of Spain's national research center for mad cow
disease. Until now, Badiola added, clinical evidence that he's seen
from the United Kingdom and France -- which have had the most deaths
due to the human form of mad cow disease -- had not recorded 2 cases
in a single family.
The mother, in her early 60s, died last month [August 2008]. The
government confirmed Wednesday [24 Sep 2008] that it was because of
mad cow disease but did not, by custom, make her name public. Her
son, 41, died in February [2008] from the same disease, Badiola said.
The latest confirmed case makes a total of 4 deaths in Spain from mad
cow disease since 2005. Three of these cases in Spain were in the
same northern province, Leon, which is another unusual aspect that
will be studied, Badiola said.
Ten years can pass between eating contaminated tissue and the
appearance of the human form of the disease, called variant
Creutzfeldt Jakob disease, health officials say. The health ministry
said there is no danger from eating meat in Spain, because of
existing controls. The steps to avoid the disease, taken after the
1st cases of mad cow disease appeared in the United Kingdom, included
isolating infected animals and prohibiting cattle feed of animal
origin or with animal proteins, the ministry said.
"The appearance of these sporadic cases is within the predictions
that were made at the European level more than eight years ago," the
ministry statement said. Badiola said that it's likely the mother
and son contracted the disease before stricter controls against mad
cow disease began in 2001 in Spain. The pair had similar eating
habits, Badiola said, which included eating animal organs, such as
kidneys and livers, and they may also have eaten animal brains.
Researchers will try to determine whether the mother and son shared a
genetic structure that might have been more prone to contracting the
illness, Badiola said. The family's home was in a village near the
provincial capital of Leon, 333 kilometers (206 miles) northwest of
Madrid. The other case in that province was of a woman, 50, who was a
local government worker in the provincial capital. She died in
December [2007] from mad cow disease. The 1st confirmed death from
mad cow disease in Spain was in 2005, when a young woman died near Madrid.
In addition to the cases in Spain, as of June [2008] the following
numbers of cases of human mad cow disease had been reported: 167 in
the United Kingdom; 23 in France; 4 in Ireland; 3 in the United
States; 2 each in Netherlands and Portugal; and one each in Canada,
Italy, Japan and Saudi Arabia. Two of the 3 U.S. cases, 2 of the 4
cases in Ireland and the single cases in Canada and Japan were people
probably exposed to the mad cow agent while residing in the United
Kingdom, officials have said. One of the 23 French cases may also
have been infected in the United Kingdom.
(By From Al Goodman)
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>