What is variant CJD and how does it differ from other forms of CJD?
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) is the most recently recognised of the human prion diseases or transmissible spongiform encepalopathies (TSEs). This new disease is often mistakenly referred to as Mad Cow” Disease, inadvertently emphasising the animal origin of vCJD. Variant CJD is probably related to the consumption of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)-contaminated meat products following the epidemic of BSE in United Kingdom cattle during the 1980 and 1990s. The first deaths from vCJD occurred in England in 1995. Public recognition came following reporting of the first 10 identified cases in 1996. Variant CJD has not been seen in Australia, and is clinically quite different to classical Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (cCJD). Even the term classical CJD includes a range of different forms of CJD, based on how the disease has been acquired. Sporadic CJD (sCJD) is the naturally occurring form of the disease and accounts for up to 90% of all cases of CJD. There are also familial
