'Mad cow' variant unlikely to have caused NZ death

DUNEDIN - The Dunedin neurologist monitoring the rare Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) nationally says he does not believe a Christchurch man who died recently was infected by the rarer "mad cow" variant of the disease.

Dr Martin Pollock said no cases of the mad cow variant had yet been discovered in New Zealand and the elderly man's death was more likely to be in the "out-of-the blue" category to which about 90 per cent of cases were attributed, or in the hereditary category, said to be responsible for 10 per cent of cases. He has monitored CJD for the past five years and said two to three deaths a year were attributed to CJD, consistent with the 1:1 million ratio of deaths expected in New Zealand.

To contain the variant CJD found in England and France, New Zealand blood donors who were in Britain between 1980 and 1996 are excluded from giving blood to safeguard against contamination of supplies.

The incurable CJD mainly affects the elderly and is usually fatal.

- NZPA