Canada’s health department confirmed on Thursday that the death of a Saskatchewan man is the first case in the country of the new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), a strain of mad cow disease.
”Health Canada has received confirmation of the first case of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in Canada,” said Health Canada representative Andrew Swift.
”However, I can’t stress this enough, all evidence points to the patient acquiring the disease in the United Kingdom.”
Health officials in Saskatchewan, meanwhile, have warned 71 patients, who came into contact with a piece of medical equipment — endoscope — previously used on the man, about the minute risk of contracting the fatal disease.
”The risk of these people having the disease is so minute,” said Antonio Giulivi of Health Canada at a press conference in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Health officials — who called each of the 71 people on Wednesday — stressed that there have been no cases worldwide of vCJD being passed to another human via the use of surgical instrument.
”It is highly unlikely that the case originated in Canada and just as unlikely that it was passed on to anyone in Canada,” said Ross Findlater, Saskatchewan Chief Medical Health Officer.
Variant CJD, a fatal human disease that kills brain cells, is believed to come from the consumption of beef infected with BSE.
So far 124 people have confirmed vCJD cases, according to Canadian health officials, with 115 already dead in Britain, which was the hardest hit by the disease.
Health Canada representative Andrew Swift stressed: ”There is no evidence to suggest that bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, has entered the Canadian food supply”.
Health officials, citing patient confidentiality, refused to give precise details about the man — although they said he was under 50 years old — or the date of his death — sometime in the summer. They said he did not donate any blood in Canada.
The man’s vCJD diagnosis — first suspected in April 2002 ? was only confirmed by British officials 48 hours ago, health officials said. – Sapa-AFP