Two Suspected Cases of Mad Cow Disease Reported in Brazil, But Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Not Linked to Beef Consumption

Two suspected cases of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, also known as "cow disease," have recently been reported in Brazil.

An Outbreak News Today report said, through a note, the Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectious Diseases of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, INI/Fiocruz, reported that the two patients from Rio de Janeiro who were suspected of mad cow disease are suspected of having the "sporadic form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease or CJD, taking into consideration both clinical and radiological aspects.

In the said note signed by the deputy director of Clinical Services, Estevão Portela Nunes, at the Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectious Diseases, the INI reported that this sporadic form is not associated with meat consumption.

The official said they reiterate that the two patients are admitted to the Hospital Center for the COVID-19 Pandemic at the INI and that both cases have no diagnostic verification.

Clinical Conditions Being Investigated

In a separate note that the deputy director found, in the early afternoon, the INI said it was investigating the clinical condition of the two patients suspected to have Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy admitted at the Hospital Center for the COVID-19 Pandemic at the Fiocruz unit.

The official note from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply clarify that the occurrences of neurodegenerative diseases the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation investigated, as reported in the media, are suspected CJD.

Therefore, added the statement, the suspected conditions are not linked to beef consumption. More so, the not also specified that the highest occurrence of the disease takes place sporadically and has an identified infectious "cause and source."

Based on the Ministry of Health website information, from 2005 to 2014, more than 600 suspected CJD cases were reported in Brazil.

Since the surveillance of the condition was instituted in Brazil, no occurrence of vCJD has been confirmed. vCJD is a CJD strain linked to beef consumption.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

The Center for Diseases Control and Prevention information specified that classic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a "human prion disease." It is a neurodegenerative syndrome with characteristic both clinical and diagnostic features.

Such a disease is quickly progressive and frequently fatal. Infection with CJD results in death typically within one year of the beginning of the illness.

Essentially, the CDC report specified that CJD is a quickly progressive, often deadly neurodegenerative disorder perceived to be resulting from an "abnormal isoform of a cellular glycoprotein identified as the prion protein.

CJD Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments

According to Mayo Clinic, CJD and its strains belong to a broad group of diseases of humans and animals, also called the "transmissible spongiform encephalopathies" or TSEs.

The name comes from the spongy holes, seen under a microscope, that develop in affected tissue of the brain. This disease is marked by quick mental deterioration, typically within a couple of months.

Early indications and symptoms of CJD include memory loss, impaired thinking, personality changes, blindness or blurred visions, difficulty speaking, insomnia, incoordination, and difficulty swallowing, among others.

In a separate report, Mayo Clinic said no existing treatment for CJD or any of its strains remains. Various drugs have been tested, but they have not shown benefits.

For that reason, doctors concentrate on alleviating pain and other symptoms and making people suffering from these diseases as comfortable as possible.

Related information about CJD is shown on Soton Brain Hub's YouTube video below:

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