Numbers incubating nvCJD an unknown quantity

20 February 1998

"Numbers incubating nvCJD an unknown quantity"

MAURIZIO POCHIARI, professor of virology in Rome, said it was impossible to predict how many people were incubating new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

However, he said it was reassuring that there had only been 24 cases so far.

Meanwhile, researchers in Germany believe a simple way of testing for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease could come from measuring the levels of a protein in human blood.

They have found that the protein S100, often found in the bloodstream after brain damage, can be used for diagnosis. The test is simpler and safer than tapping into spinal fluid to search for the prion proteins believed responsible for the disease.

• The Scotsman 20/02/98 page 8
  
• The Times 20/02/98 page 5