A health worker recently unveiled a mysterious brain illness that started to affect young people in a province located in Canada.
As specified in a Newstalk ZB report, recent health reports said, a cluster has arisen in the Canadian province of New Brunswick over the last two years, with victims complaining of a range of worrying symptoms like swift and substantial weight loss, hallucinations, insomnia, and problems thinking clearly and decreased mobility.
Doctors have remained confused, with the illness impacting previously healthy young people, including those in their 20s and 30s.
The New Brunswick Office of the chief medical officer of health reported 48 cases are currently being investigated, although insiders have claimed the figure could be as high as 150.
Out of 48 official cases, 46 were reported by one neurologist. On the other hand, two other cases were reported for referral by two different neurologists.
Initially Thought as a Human Prion Disease
Originally, the illness was believed to be a "human prion disease," which occurs when prions, a type of protein, cause regular proteins to fold strangely. Nonetheless, tests have since ruled out such a theory.
A similar Herald Sun report specified that according to a whistle-blower from health authority Vitalité Health Network, they did not believe the disease affected New Brunswick alone.
This particular source explained, the place, perhaps, is the area that's raising the flag since "we're mostly rural and," in a place where people might be more exposed to environmental factors.
The whistleblower expressed concern over such cases as they appear to evolve very quickly, adding, "I'm worried for them and we owe them" some explanation.
The Similarity of Symptoms with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Also, according to reports, at least nine cases involve people who are in close contact with a confirmed case of the illness and that such claims were not genetically associated, specifying it could be spreading from one person to another.
Alarm bells were initially raised in March 2021, following a leaked government memorandum that urged doctors to be on alert for symptoms of the illness similar to the rare, deadly "Creutzfeldt-Jakob" brain disease, which is detailed on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention site.
As specified in a New Brunswick Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health report, from early 2020 until the end of May last year, a total of 48 individuals were identified as showing some clinical signs and symptoms that were akin to those linked to CJD yet reported with unusual characteristics.
Negative Results for Human Prion Disease
When the patients were referred by their healthcare provider, most of them under investigation were residents of the southern and northern regions of New Brunswick, around the Acadian Peninsula and Moncton regions.
However, the investigation has not found any evidence that suggests residents of the said areas are more at risk than those living elsewhere in the province.
It has also been noted that locations could reflect the catchment region of the referring doctors. No other cases have been detected in other territories and provinces.
The organization also noted that as all test results have come out negative for known forms of human prion disease, some noted commonalities in indications and symptoms, as well as the lack of confirmed diagnosis among cases, and people were categorized as being part of a collection of a probable neurological syndrome of unidentified cause.
Related report about the mysterious brain illness is shown on Global News's YouTube video below:
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