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Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)
What is it and what is the Florida Department of Health doing about it?
The Department of Health monitors the number of deaths attributed to Creutzfeldt-Jakob (CJD) disease, a rare and fatal brain disease that has been increasingly in the news. Based on death certificate reviews, there are approximately 16 deaths per year from this disease in Florida. This is almost exactly the number expected based on the national trend of having approximately 1 death per million population per year. The death rate in Florida has not been rising in recent years.
In addition to the classical form of the disease, which is found worldwide, there is a new variant of the disease that has been found almost exclusively in the United Kingdom. This new form of the disease called new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (nv-CJD or v-CJD) has been associated with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) which is also known as "Mad Cow Disease". Cases of nv-CJD have slightly different clinical signs, symptoms, and laboratory features from those of the classical form of CJD. To date, no case of nv-CJD has been detected in Florida or the United States.
Monitoring functions for these diseases in humans and animals (collectively called transmissible spongiform encephelopathies or TSEs) are shared by federal, state and local health and agricultural officials. The Florida Department of Health regularly reviews death certificates and tracks the numbers of deaths attributed to CJD. We cooperate with our federal partners at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for closely investigating cases of CJD that occur in people less than 55 years of age. This age group is where experts feel nv-CJD is most likely to occur. We also take reports from medical providers and the public on clusters of disease.
Agricultural officials are responsible for looking for BSE or mad cow disease in livestock. Information on these programs can be obtained in links that follow. To date, there have been no cases of mad cow disease in Florida or the United States.
To learn more about these devastating diseases check out the following links which will provide you with information about Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), the new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (nv-CJD) and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).
The following links provide Florida-specific information on human CJD:
Brief Summary of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)
Statistics for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) in Florida
Graphs of mortality, incidence and ages of CJD cases at time of death. (Scroll down or click arrow buttons on top toolbar to see next graph.)
The following provide additional information on CJD and BSE:
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: Background, Evolution, and Current Concerns
The UK Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit
National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center at Case Western Reserve University
Chronic Wasting Disease of Deer and Elk and Human Health
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)(F.D.A.) | 
