Death at Noble's from rare form of CJD

A rare form of Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease has claimed the life of an Island resident. 

The victim in her mid-fifties, died last Thursday in Noble's Hospital from Sporadic CJD, a strain of the disease seen in one in a million people.  

Public health director Dr Parameswaran Kishore has stressed the infection was not related to beef consumption, cattle or agriculture - and there is no risk to public health.    

Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease is a degenerative brain disorder. Variant CJD is often associated with the human form of BSE or mad cow disease however Dr Kishore has made it clear the strain responsible in this case was Sporadic CJD, which is non-infectious and there is no risk of transmission. It is not known how the woman contracted it.