Editor:
Re: No tie to food in three brain disease cases: FHA, June 20.
I take great exception to Fraser Health’s comments, that “there has never been a home-grown case of variant CJD (Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease) in Canada.”
My mother died of variant CJD on May 9, 2007 at the Langley Hospice.
We were told it is impossible to diagnose variant CJD – the human strain of mad cow disease – until autopsy. In fact, my mother’s brain had to be sent to the some billion-dollar government-funded centre in Ottawa to confirm the diagnosis.
Yet, Fraser Health says “tests have ruled out the variant form of CJD” in these recent cases? I am flabbergasted to read how certain Fraser Health is the recent three cases in the region are ‘classical’ versus ‘variant.’
Allow me to explain the difference.
‘Classical’ CJD is apparently a brain-wasting disease that any of us could get at any time for no reason.
‘Variant’ CJD is the result of eating beef that is infected with mad cow disease. However, one can never know when/what/where you ingested this beef, because it is our genetic makeup that dictates at what point the virus – once in your system – decides to present itself.
Let me add one more critical piece of info. Variant CJD cannot be destroyed. Even upon cremation, should one ingest infected ashes, one will contract variant CJD.
Ask yourself – so what about the gloves used for autopsying the brain, the utensils, the fluid samples and even the ashes. How will these be destroyed so the virus doesn’t pass to another victim – i.e. insects, worms, birds, rodents, humans, etc.? The answer is, they cannot.
We were allowed to bury my mother’s infected ashes. Eventually, things break down overtime. Eventually insects and other animals will be exposed and contract this virus from her ashes. Then here we go again, the cycle continues, by eating these animals we get terminally ill and die.
I ask you to reconsider chief medical health officer Paul Van Buynder’s statement of “I want to reassure residents of the Lower Mainland that there is no risk.”
J. Armstrong, Surrey
