Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is a disease of the brain and is always fatal.
BSE stands for bovine spongiform encephalopathy. BSE has been epidemic in
British cattle for the last 10 years.The first confirmed cases were
reported in late 1986 per Professor Richard Lacey, professor of Clinical
Microbliologhy at Leeds University.

A personal Note:  My grandmother died of  CJD just one year ago,several
months after her return from Austrailia. She had traveled by air from home
in California to England (a stopover) and on to Syndey to visit her
grandaughter in college.

She came down with strange s/s and over the course of several months was
taken to UCLA for more tests because no diagnosis could be found. It was
there that she was diagnosed. A genetic test was also performed and she was
found to have the marker,but after all
the info on BSE I really wonder if somehow the meat,milk or something she
ingested en route to Australia  caused this.
And me a partial vegetarian...

It is a serious disease in humans.  Not for the sensitive stomach:
During the post mortem,extreme care must be taken due to the incredible
infectiousness of the disease.The pathologist wears a
mask,goggles,gloves,boots and a plastic apron and any instruments that have
been used have to be thoroughly sterilised with high pressure steam for
prolonged periods of time or put through 6 successive heat cycles in a
steriliser.

For 8 pages of information on this disease: [log in to unmask]

Denise Ferrell,IBCLC