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	va1-sg19016.securesites.net

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[1]





The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) [Taiwan] is expected to make an 

announcement early in September 2007 whether a suspected case of 

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) reported in Tainan, southern Taiwan 

is indeed the human [variant] of mad cow disease.



The CDC [Taiwan] said it needs further tests to determine if the 

patient, reported by the National Chengkung University (NCKU) 

Hospital, has contracted CJD [Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease], or mad cow 

disease, CDC Deputy Director-General Chou Chih-hao siad.



"There has never been a case of contracting mad cow disease from 

taking [bovine] placenta shots. Taiwan allows placenta only in 

cosmetic products, not in shots. So if the patient took placenta 

shots, the shots were illegal," Chou said.



The United Daily News, however, reported Thu 30 Aug 2007 that the 

same patient, who has developed classic symptoms of CJD over the past 

10 months and is currently in a vegetative state, could be suffering 

from a new variant of CJD, as she had received [bovine] placenta 

injections for a long time before seeking treatment at NCKU Hospital.



The CDC[Taiwan] decided to call in its specialists on 8 Sep 2007, 

saying that it had received limited information about the patient's 

medical history before and would like to re-examine the case, after 

the NCKU hospital provides it with more details of the patient. To 

with about a dozen cases being reported each year, according to Chou.



Variant CJD, however, is a human disease of the central nervous 

system that was first diagnosed in the United Kingdom in 1995. 

Scientists have linked the disease to eating meat products from 

cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly 

called mad cow disease. Except for a few cases in other European 

nations with BSE, nvCJD has been found almost exclusively in the UK. 

It strikes younger people, often begins with psychiatric symptoms and 

progresses slowly.



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[2]



Taiwan health authorities said on Thursday [30 Aug 2007] that they 

are investigating a suspected human case of mad cow disease 

contracted from taking injections of bovine placenta. "There has 

never been a case of contracting mad cow disease from taking placenta 

shots. Taiwan allows placenta only in cosmetic products, not in 

shots. So if the patient took placenta shots, the shots were 

illegal," CDC [Taiwan] Deputy Director Chou Chih-hao told reporters.



According to the hospital, a patient developed signs of mad cow 

disease 10 months ago and has now lost all physical functions except 

the eyes. The hospital, at the order of CDC [Taiwan], has refused to 

release other information about the patient including gender.



Taiwan press quoted the patient's family members as saying that the 

patient had never gone abroad and never liked to eat the innards of 

animals, but had been taking bovine placenta shots for a long time to 

look young. Despite Taiwan's ban on placenta shots, many Taiwanese 

get the expensive shots from private clinics or go on "placenta 

tours" to receive the shots in Japan. They believe that taking 

placenta shots on a regular basis can improve health and preserve youth.



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[Locator map of Taiwan

Map of Taiwan showing Tainan in SW

- Mod.JW]



[If this case is caused by a prion, the relative short length of time 

of progression of illness in the case described is more consistent 

with classical CJD as mentioned in the posting. No confirmatory 

information, clinical or otherwise, is given to confirm the diagnosis 

of any prion disease at all.



Vertical transmission of spongiform encephalopathy seems to occur 

with scrapie in sheep but whether it occurs in bovine disease or in 

chronic wasting disease in mule deer, as far as is known, remains unclear.



An educated guess, which over the years that scientists have studied 

spongiform encephalopathies may be far from the truth, would suggest 

that the case may be a prion-related disease but probably not CJD 

(new var.) and not related to the placental injections. - Mod.LL]



2006

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CJD (new var.), blood transfusion risk  20061208.3468

CJD, transmission risk - Canada (ON)  20061207.3457

....................ll/ejp/jw