St. Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin has confirmed that one of its patients has been diagnosed with the fatal brain disease, variant CJD. It is understood that the patient, who was diagnosed in May, is a young woman. This is the first case of variant CJD in the Republic.
At a hastily convened press conference this afternoon, St. Vincent’s Hospital confirmed that one of their patients has been diagnosed with variant CJD, the degenerative and fatal brain disease. The hospital diagnosed the infectious disease following a stomach biopsy on the 21st may. The patient's identity has not been revealed. 49 patients, who have undergone a similar procedure using the same surgical instruments, have been notified that there is no reasonable risk that they could contract the disease.
St. Vincent’s then wrote to the 49 patients, a copy of the letter has been seen by RTÉ News. The hospital said wrote that "you had a procedure in which a piece of equipment used might also have been used for a patient who may have a very rare neurological condition called Variant CJD.” The letter went on to say, “according to international experts, there is no measurable risk to you”, and added, "there is no known case anywhere in the world of Variant CJD being transmitted by the procedure you had.”
Last February, it was revealed that sterilising techniques to rid surgical instruments of infection might actually help to spread Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which is the human form of BSE. This is the first case of variant CJD in Ireland and doctors here believe that the patient contracted the disease in Britain, where she has been travelling for the past decade or so.
