Second Case of New Variant Mad Cow Disease in a British Citizen Living in U.S.

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BIOLOGICAL AGENTS
Second case of human mad cow disease or vCJD found in Texas
By Sue Mueller
Nov 22, 2005, 01:06

A 30-year old British male residing in Houston, TX was found positive for
variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or vCJD. He probably is the second victim
of the human form of mad cow disease in the US, meatingplace.com reported on
Nov. 21.

Eating tainted beef can cause vCJD, which is different from the naturally
occurring brain wasting disease or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). In the
US, about 120 cases of CJD are diagnosed every year.

The man moved to Houston to take a job at Shell Oil in 2001 after he lived
most of his life in the UK. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention planned to issue a report on the case over the weekend, according
to meatingplace.com.

The disease apparently manifested itself this year and the man changed his
personality, which alarmed his relatives during phone calls.

The victim was said to have no history of risk factors such as surgery,
blood transfusion or IV drug use during his stay in Texas. It is unknown
where he contracted the disease.

The first American, who died from vCJD in June, 2004 was a 25 year-old
Floridian woman, who was believed to contract the disease when traveling to
England.

In the UK, more than 140 people died from the human form of mad cow disease.

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