New Brunswick monitoring more than 40 cases of unknown neurological disease

 

Possible new prion disease suspected in Canada after cluster of deadly brain atrophy cases.

Public Health is closely monitoring a cluster of more than 40 New Brunswick patients with symptoms similar to those of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare and fatal brain disease.

In an internal memo obtained by Radio-Canada, sent on March 5 by the office of the chief medical officer of health to the New Brunswick Medical Society and to associations of doctors and nurses, the department notes the existence of a cluster of 42 cases of a progressive neurological syndrome of unknown origin.

A first case was diagnosed in 2015, according to the memo. Three years later, in 2019, 11 additional cases were discovered, with 24 more cases discovered in 2020 and another six cases in 2021. Five people have died.

cbc.ca

New Brunswick monitoring more than 40 cases of unknown neurological disease | CBC News