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Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
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News and Highlights:

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Not Related to a Common Venue - New Jersey, 1995 - 2004 NEW!
(Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, May 7, 2004)

Chronic Wasting Disease and Potential Transmission to Humans NEW! (Emerging Infectious Diseases June 2004)

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in a Dairy Cow - Washington State, 2003 (Jan. 12, 2004)
Includes information about the BSE, classic vs variant CJD, and CDC surveillance for prion diseases

Preliminary Investigation Suggests BSE-Infected Cow in Washington State Was Likely Imported from Canada (Dec. 29, 2003)

Q&A Regarding Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) UPDATED! (Dec. 29, 2003)

Probable Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in a U.S. Resident - Florida, 2002

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease July 2002

Variant CJD: Fact Sheet UPDATED! (Dec. 29, 2003)


Since 1996, evidence has been increasing for a causal relationship between ongoing outbreaks in Europe of a disease in cattle, called bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or "mad cow disease"), and a disease in humans, called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). Both disorders are invariably fatal brain diseases with unusually long incubation periods measured in years, and are caused by an unconventional transmissible agent.

On December 23, 2003, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a presumptive diagnosis of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or "mad cow" disease) in an adult Holstein cow from Washington State. The diagnosis was confirmed by an international reference laboratory in Weybridge, England, on December 25. Preliminary trace-back based on an ear-tag identification number suggests that the BSE-infected cow was imported into the United States from Canada in August 2001.

Articles

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Questions and Answers Regarding Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)

Questions and Answers Regarding Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Infection-Control Practices

Variant CJD: Fact Sheet UPDATED! (Dec. 29, 2003)

Press Release: CDC and Florida Department of Health investigate a likely case of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease in a U.K. citizen residing in the U.S. April 18, 2002


Additional Information

From CDC

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Not Related to a Common Venue - New Jersey, 1995 - 2004 NEW!
(Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, May 7, 2004)

Chronic Wasting Disease and Potential Transmission to Humans NEW! (Emerging Infectious Diseases June 2004)

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in a Dairy Cow - Washington State, 2003 (Jan. 12, 2004)
Includes information about the BSE, classic vs variant CJD, and CDC surveillance for prion diseases

Probable Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in a U.S. Resident -- Florida, 2002 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), October 18, 2002;51(41):927-929.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: Background, Evolution, and Current Concerns. Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal (EID), January-February 2001.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Associated with Cadaveric Dura Mater Grafts. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), November 14, 1997;46(45):1066-1069.
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Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in the United States, 1979-1994: Using National Mortality Data to Assess the Possible Occurrence of Variant Cases. Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal (EID), October-December 1996;2(4):333-337.
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Surveillance for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), August 9, 1996;45(31):665-668.
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From Outside CDC
Links to nonfederal organizations found at this site are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the federal government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in Unusually Young Patients Who Consumed Venison. Archives of Neurology, October 2001;58:1673-1678.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in the United States: 1979-1998. Journal of the American Medical Association, November 8, 2000; 284(18).

National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center (from the Division of Neuropathology, Case Western Reserve University. New variant CJD surveillance system in collaboration with CDC.)

California CJD Surveillance Project
Ongoing review of CJD mortality data to monitor for any increase in the occurrence of CJD. Review of pertinent clinical and neuropathologic records of CJD cases in persons under age 55 years and investigate CJD cases with possible environmental or unusual sources of infection

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (from the Center for Veterinary Medicine, United States Food and Drug Administration. Updates, guidelines, federal register notices, and additional topics, including information on the mammalian-to-ruminant feed ban.)

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) (from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture)

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Testing (from the National Veterinary Services Laboratories, United States Department of Agriculture, guidance on submission of rabies-negative brain samples from rabies testing laboratories to the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) for bovine spongiform encephalopathy immunohistochemistry testing)
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BSE (from Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, United Kingdom)

University of California, San Francisco: Memory and Aging Center. Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Website. March 17, 2003.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Foundation, Inc.

The UK Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit (from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland)

WHO Infection Control Guidelines for Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies: Report of a WHO Consultation, Geneva, Switzerland, 23-26 March 1999 (from the World Health Organization)
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This page last reviewed January 12, 2004

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