The number of people in Britain who have succumbed to vCJD, the human form of
mad cow disease, has reached 100. “It’s of great concern,” says Peter Smith,
chair of the government’s Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee. Last
year saw 27 cases, the largest number yet, and 16 have already been reported
this year, says Roy Anderson, an epidemiologist on the committee. Smith warns
that elderly victims of the disease may have been missed. “Only around 3 per
cent of the elderly with dementia have full post-mortems,” he says. Only one
elderly patient is among the 100.
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from 91av
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending 91av articles
1
Red-light therapy does have health benefits but not the ones you think
2
Man destined for Alzheimer's may have been saved by accidental therapy
3
Woman in cancer remission without treatment in highly unusual case
4
Extinct relative of koalas discovered in Western Australia
5
A lost ancient script reveals how writing as we know it really began
6
We have figured out a new way to send messages into the past
7
Huge landslide in Alaska caused 481m-high tsunami
8
Human heads have changed shape a lot in the past 100 years
9
Pressure from individual particles measured for the first time
10
The 50-year quest to create a quantum spin liquid may finally be over
