New Wave of "Mad Cow" Deaths Feared
08 01 08 - 03:42 Symptoms of the disease, which is linked to misshapen prion proteins in the brain, affect people at different stages of life, depending on their genetic make-up. Experts believe the timer could still be ticking for many of those infected, with the incubation period exceeding 50 years in some cases.The number of annual deaths from vCJD has been in decline since it peaked in 2000, when 28 died. In the year up to November 30, 2007, there were just four definite or probable cases.
But all these people had the MM version of the gene that makes prions; the woman examined in this latest case had a different gene variant, VV, found in about 10 per cent of Britons.
This could become a devastating epidemic yet.
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