The condition of a critically ill 27-year-old Uitenhage man believed to have the human variant of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy also known as BSE or ”mad cow” disease, deteriorated drastically overnight, a representative for the Cuyler Clinic said on Friday.
”He’s slipped into a very deep coma,” general manager Gloria Murison said.
She declined to give further details, but said the patient’s relatives were with him constantly.
Murison said on Thursday that doctors were still waiting for test results, but were confident that the preliminary diagnosis was correct.
”We don’t yet know how he contracted the illness, but his doctors have emphasised that there’s no need for the public to panic,” Murison said.
She said the patient was in a coma and that his relatives were adamant that they did not want his personal details released to the media.
”You must understand this is a bad time for them… but we will be able to give you more information by next week,” she said.
Mad cow disease is a brain-destroying illness that first surfaced in British cattle but has now spread to cattle in other parts of the world.
It is thought that the disease infects cows that eat food supplements containing remains of sheep infected with a similar form of the illness. – Sapa