http://news.bbc.co.u...lth/2521883.stm
Thursday, 28 November, 2002, 06:25 GMT
BSE linked to further CJD cases (excerpts)
The government has called the findings "potentially important"
The number of cases of CJD caused by eating BSE-infected beef may be higher than previously thought.
Scientists at the Institute of Neurology in London have found evidence BSE, in addition to causing so-called variant CJD (vCJD), may also be responsible for some cases of "sporadic" CJD.
So far, 117 people in Britain have died from the incurable brain disease variant vCJD.
Previously, the cause of cases of sporadic CJD - a different strain of the disease - was not known.
The strain, which has been identified for many years, tends to affect older people and a link with eating infected beef had never been made.
Now, however, researchers say some cases of sporadic CJD may have been caused by people eating BSE-infected beef in the late 80s and early 90s.