Latest estimates of the number of people asymptomatic for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in the population remain very low, according to results from a large scale study of tonsil tissue by the Health Protection Agency.
No evidence of the abnormal prion protein associated with vCJD was found in any of the 63,000 samples analysed. The findings suggest there may be fewer undetected asymptomatic cases of vCJD in the population than were previously expected. Dr Jonathan Clewley, an expert on vCJD at the Health Protection Agency, said: “It may be that we have seen the worst of vCJD already, although we need to keep vigilant and implement appropriate public health measures to prevent any possible secondary spread of disease.”
