The recent death of a Lloydminster man from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
is one of 25 to 30 cases that occur in Canada annually, says Andrew
Swift of Health Canada.
He called CJD a naturally occurring disease, with the cases spread
randomly across the country.
“There is a one in a million chance of it happening.”
It is not the type of CJD called variant CJD, that some have linked
with eating beef infected with mad cow disease. Nor is it linked to
chronic wasting disease, a fatal brain and nervous system disease that
can infect elk and deer.
Swift said there has never been a case of variant CJD in Canada or the
United States.
A national surveillance system created in Jan. 1, 2000 requires doctors
to report any clinical symptoms of CJD in their patients.
Saskatchewan Health reports there were three cases of CJD in the
province in 2000 and none in 2001.
