vCJD 'Could Infect Thousands in the UK'

Thousands of people could be infected with variant CJD (vCJD) without showing symptoms, Professor James Ironside, of the National CJD Surveillance Unit at Edinburgh University, said. As a result, they could undergo blood transfusions and have surgical equipment used on them which could lead to the spread of the disease. Prof Ironside will tell a lecture audience on September 25, that scientists must develop a rapid screening test for the disease. He will also challenge the perception that the vCJD outbreak in the 1990s was an isolated threat to humans. Prof Ironside said: ‘Although the number of BSE and vCJD cases is dropping, we ignore these diseases at our peril. ‘We know that a significant number of people could be infected with vCJD without showing symptoms. However, we do not know how many people may be affected, and there is no cure or treatment. ‘Until we develop a rapid screening test, the unknowing carriers pose a great risk of infecting others through donating blood or having surgical operations.’ Prof Ironside was a member of the team in the National CJD Surveillance Unit in Edinburgh that identified variant CJD in 1996. It is a rare and ultimately fatal progressive degenerative brain disease and is linked with BSE in cattle.