California state officials say the chances of bovine spongiform encephalopathy being at work in the death and illness of two Marin County residents are unlikely. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the degenerative brain disorder sometimes linked to mad cow disease is not infectious, and there is no public health threat.
Concern over mad cow began when a Marin County woman died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare brain disorder in which a buildup of damaged proteins in the brain causes early dementia followed quickly by death. A second resident became sick with the disease, and state health officials took steps to determine whether an outbreak was occurring.
However, lab results released Thursday confirmed that one of the cases was definitely not the mad cow form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob, and experts on the disease believe it is highly unlikely the second case is related either.
“We have no evidence that suggests a causal linkage between the suspected cases nor is there any evidence to suggests a risk in food supply,” the state public health department said in a statement.
The Bay Area county said both cases of the disease are under investigation, but officials are not concerned that the disorder will spread.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob occurs in roughly 300 Americans every year, either suddenly and without reason or as the result of eating beef infected with mad cow disease. The “acquired” form of Creutzfeldt Jakob only accounts for about one percent of cases, the San Francisco Chronicle said.
