Jul 21, 2008 6:00 am US/Central
Mass. Resident Tested For Possible Mad Cow Disease
BOSTON (CBS) ―
Public health officials in Massachusetts are investigating whether a patient at Cape Cod Hospital has the human form of mad cow disease.
A spokesperson with Cape Cod Hospital confirmed to CBS station WBZ-TV that tests are being done to see if the patient has Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and whether it's the variant attributed to mad cow.
There have only been three cases of the human form of mad cow disease reported in the United States in the last several years, and officials say it's extremely unlikely the patient in Cape Cod Hospital has the disease.
Mad cow disease - medically known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE - causes spongy holes in the brain.
Eating meat products contaminated with mad cow disease is linked to the rare and fatal human variant.
Test results on the Cape patient are expected back early this week. WBZ-TV reports the patient is in stable condition.
According to the state health department, there are about a half-dozen possible cases reported every year in Massachusetts and about 300 nationwide.
Dave Riley, a spokesperson for Cape Cod Hospital, said that hospital officials have been told there was no cause for concern and that the illness was not contagious.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
