§ Mr. GillTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence his Department has obtained that links new variant CJD in humans with BSE in cattle. [135915]
§ Yvette Cooper[holding answer 31 October 2000]: I have been asked to reply.
We are advised on all matters relating to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) by the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC). At its meeting in March 1999, SEAC advised that
BSE and vCJD were caused by a closely similar prion strain, and concluded that variant CJD was an acquired prion disease caused by exposure to BSE or a BSE like agent.