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C reutzfeldt‐ J akob disease cluster in the health area of M eixoeiro H ospital
Author(s) -
Moreno M. J.,
Escriche D.,
Romero J.,
Maciñeiras J. L.,
Corredera E.,
Castro M. D.,
Orizaola P.,
Navarro C.,
del Campo V.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2012.01678.x
Subject(s) - medicine , epidemiology , incidence (geometry) , disease , cluster (spacecraft) , pediatrics , transmission (telecommunications) , bovine spongiform encephalopathy , transmissible spongiform encephalopathy , public health , emergency medicine , pathology , prion protein , physics , electrical engineering , computer science , optics , scrapie , programming language , engineering
Objective G alicia is the S panish region in which most bovine spongiform encephalopathy cases have been registered. M eixoeiro H ospital is included in the G alician Health Service ( SERGAS ). The aim of the study was to analyze the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of C reutzfeldt‐ J akob disease ( CJD ) in the health area of M eixoeiro H ospital and to identify possible specific risk factors to the general public. Methods All incident cases of CJD were identified in the health area of M eixoeiro H ospital (187,877 inhabitants) over a 14‐year period, 1997–2010, and classified according to WHO diagnostic criteria. We obtained clinical detail and epidemiological information on all cases. Crude and age‐specific incidence rates were calculated. A review of surgical or invasive medical procedures was undertaken. Results We diagnosed 12 patients with CJD , 10 sporadic CJD (s CJD ), and two genetic CJD (g CJD ). No iatrogenic or variant CJD was detected. According to P oisson distribution, 3.9 CJD cases would be expected for our area over the 14 years researched. The average yearly mortality rate from CJD was 4.6 cases per million (3.8 from s CJD and 0.8 from g CJD ). Eight patients (67%) underwent at least one surgical or invasive medical procedure. Sixteen of twenty‐seven (59%) of these procedures were undertaken in M eixoeiro H ospital. Conclusions The incidence of CJD in the health area of M eixoeiro H ospital is three times higher than expected. The hypothesis that at least some cases of s CJD are apparently because of covert transmission or zoonosis events should not be formally refuted and might explain the high rate found.