UK News 30-10-2002 24 At Risk Of Deadly Brain Disease who: South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust what: Says 24 people may have been exposed to sporadic CJD by infected equipment where: MIDDLESBROUGH when: Yesterday snippet: "Twenty-nine patients were being told last night that they could have contracted a deadly brain disease because of a hospital blunder," reports The Times. "The patients all underwent surgery with instruments that had been used on a patient being tested for CJD, the human form of mad cow disease." Middlesbrough General Hospital has admitted that 24 of the patients have been put in danger of contracting `sporadic` CJD. The deadly prion which causes the disease cannot be killed off by sterilisation and, explains The Guardian, "instruments used on any suspected case of CJD must be quarantined immediately after use". The operation on an unnamed woman took place on July 19th and sporadic CJD was diagnosed on August 8th. She was immediately informed and the equipment withdrawn but the other patients were only notified last night following months of discussion between South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust and the CJD surveillance unit. "Sporadic CJD occurs in people who have no family history of the disease, and it strikes without any apparent reason," explains The Times. "It accounts for about 85 per cent of all cases of the illness, but should not be confused with variant CJD, which is the human form of BSE that has been linked to contaminated meat." [... more]

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