In a message dated 13.9.98 22:05:03 BST
> KT wrote
>
> >A government-supervised programme testing appendices and tonsils for new
> >variant CJD *will* start.
JB wrote
>Present plan is anonymous population screening AFAIK.
>For the future two issues.
>First is accurate diagnosis when patient do have symptoms
> Secondly as you say there is a long, pre-symptomatic phase.
According to the TV news [must be right then], :-) the programme is anonymous
and pt isn't told anything, even if positive.
It would certainly be of interest to have some idea of how long the disease
can lie dormant
Also useful to know if we are likely to have a deluge of cases in the future,
and approximately when (perhaps)
It might even be possible to say whether people are still catching it despite
the changes to beef production
Or answer the question as to whether lamb is safe too
I don't know whether it will be possible to answer such questions but lives
might be saved if, for example, the results were alarming and more changes in
agriculture followed.
I agree with KT's arguments where telling people is concerned, unless they ask
for a test, I suppose.
I seem to remember a pathologist telling us as students that if they did a
postmortem on a pt with CJD they had to throw the knives etc away because it
was infectious and the instruments couldn't be properly cleaned.
Could we be spreading it on scalpels???
Any pathologists out there?
Grace
(Why am I writing this, I'm supposed to be packing! ) :-)
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