CJD cases unrelated to Jersey racetrack, CDC says

BSE

May 7, 2004 (CIDRAP News) – Federal and state disease investigators have rejected a theory that a cluster of 17 suspected Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) cases were linked to restaurants at Garden State Racetrack in Cherry Hill, N.J.

Concern had been raised that 17 deaths might have resulted from eating meat contaminated with the agent of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, at racetrack restaurants between 1988 and 1992, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Eating BSE-contaminated meat products is believed to be the cause of variant CJD (vCJD).

The CDC and New Jersey health officials investigated the 17 deaths and determined that 11 of them were due to definite or probable CJD, according to the CDC report. However, there is no evidence that any of the cases were vCJD, and they were not linked to any common source of infection, says the early-release report in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Analysis of brain tissue specimens pointed to classic CJD and not to vCJD in five of the cases, the CDC says. In six other cases, brain tissue specimens were unavailable, but clinical and diagnostic evidence indicated probable CJD. Of the six remaining cases, three were found to be unrelated to either CJD or vCJD, and three remain under investigation, the report states.

The 14 deaths that were definitely or possibly linked to CJD occurred over about 9.25 years, the report states. Attendance at the racetrack from 1998 through 1992 totaled about 4.1 million, and the overall incidence of CJD in people aged 50 and older is 3.4 cases per million per year. Given these facts, 14 CJD deaths among racetrack attendees in 9.25 years "would not be considered unusual," the CDC says.

The report stresses that classic CJD and vCJD are different diseases, with different clinical and neuropathologic characteristics and a different genetic profile. "Thus cases of vCJD can be distinguished from classic CJD on the basis of clinical and pathologic data," and no evidence indicated vCJD in any of the cases, the article says.

In addition, investigators identified the CJD subtypes in four cases and found they were all different, suggesting that the cases did not have a common cause.

CDC. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease not related to a common venue—New Jersey, 1995-2004. MMWR 2004;53(early release) [Full text]

This week's top reads

  1. Study: HHS's COVID vaccine campaign saved $732 billion in averted infections, costs

    Researchers say the campaign encouraged 22 million Americans to complete their primary COVID-19 vaccine series, preventing nearly 2.6 million infections.

    Mary Van Beusekom
    Vaccine assembly line

  2. Studies yield more clues about H5N1 avian flu susceptibility, spread in dairy cows

    Researchers who examined cow mammary gland tissue found wide expression of avian and human influenza A receptors, which could explain high virus loads in milk of infected cows.

    Lisa Schnirring
    cow udders

  3. Colorado officials probe source of H5N1 in cows as USDA confirms more infected mammals

    Monitoring of about 70 farm workers found no symptoms, and the state's wastewater sampling pilot has found no flu rise.

    Lisa Schnirring
    vet and dairy herd

  4. With H5N1 avian flu silently spreading in US cattle, wastewater testing could be key

    Wastewater treatment systems that have no intake of animal-related sewage could serve as sentinels for human disease, experts say.

    Mary Van Beusekom
    Wastewater plant

  5. USDA reports more H5N1 detections in poultry, wild birds

    Also, another avian flu outbreak was reported in backyard poultry in Idaho.

    Lisa Schnirring
    farm pigeons

  6. WHO describes MERS cluster in Saudi Arabia

    The index case-patient, who died from his infection, shared a hospital room with the second patient identified.

    Stephanie Soucheray

  7. Feds announces assistance for US farmers affected by H5N1 avian flu

    The assistance is meant to both improve on-site biosecurity and address financial losses connected to lost milk production in herds affected by H5N1.

    Stephanie Soucheray
    cows

  8. FDA postpones advisory committee meeting on next COVID vaccines

    The FDA said the few extra weeks allow it to obtain the most up-to-date information for making its recommendation.

    Lisa Schnirring

  9. With 2 CWD-positive deer, California becomes 34th state to report fatal disease

    The disease had probably been in the state for some time, officials say.

    Mary Van Beusekom
    Young deer in spring

  10. Substantial rise in mpox cases prompts NYC health alert

    Officials also urged health providers to watch for possible clade 1 cases in people with travel history or epidemiological connections to African outbreak locations.

    Lisa Schnirring