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Document 91999E000191
WRITTEN QUESTION No. 191/99 by Irene SOLTWEDEL-SCHÄFER Fatalities caused by the new variant of Creutzfeld-Jacob disease (nvCJD) and the number of cases of nvCJD currently diagnosed in Great Britain
WRITTEN QUESTION No. 191/99 by Irene SOLTWEDEL-SCHÄFER Fatalities caused by the new variant of Creutzfeld-Jacob disease (nvCJD) and the number of cases of nvCJD currently diagnosed in Great Britain
WRITTEN QUESTION No. 191/99 by Irene SOLTWEDEL-SCHÄFER Fatalities caused by the new variant of Creutzfeld-Jacob disease (nvCJD) and the number of cases of nvCJD currently diagnosed in Great Britain
OL C 341, 1999 11 29, p. 65
(ES, DA, DE, EL, EN, FR, IT, NL, PT, FI, SV)
91999E0191
WRITTEN QUESTION No. 191/99 by Irene SOLTWEDEL-SCHÄFER Fatalities caused by the new variant of Creutzfeld-Jacob disease (nvCJD) and the number of cases of nvCJD currently diagnosed in Great Britain
Official Journal C 341 , 29/11/1999 P. 0065
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0191/99 by Irene Soltwedel-Schäfer (V) to the Commission (11 February 1999) Subject: Fatalities caused by the new variant of Creutzfeld-Jacob disease (nvCJD) and the number of cases of nvCJD currently diagnosed in Great Britain 1. How many deaths were caused by nvCJD in Great Britain in 1996? 2. How many deaths were caused by nvCJD in Great Britain in 1997? 3. How many deaths were caused by nvCJD in Great Britain in 1998? 4. How many deaths were caused by nvCJD in Great Britain in 1999? 5. How many cases of nvCJD have currently been diagnosed in Great Britain? Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission (31 March 1999) As appears from the press release of the British authorities (Department of health) issued on 1st March 1999 there were 3 deaths in the United Kingdom caused by Creutzfeld-Jacob disease (nvCJD) in 1995, 10 in 1996, 10 in 1997, 15 in 1998 and 1 in 1999. These official figures include deaths due to definite and probable cases. The attribution of a "definite" diagnosis refers to pathological confirmation, in most cases by post mortem examination of brain tissue. The attribution of a "probable" case is based on clinical diagnostic criteria but without pathological confirmation. However, to provide as complete data as possible on deaths due to nvCJD, "probable" cases are included. As with any disease surveillance system, there are a number of living "suspect" cases of nvCJD under investigation at any time. They are not included in the official statistics since their number exceeds the number of subsequently "confirmed" cases by a ratio of about 4:1, and this ratio varies from month to month. Clinical diagnostic criteria have already been developed for the classification of suspect cases as "probable", "possible" or "unlikely to be nvCJD", but these criteria are not yet validated. If the criteria are accepted by the scientific community as providing reasonable diagnostic accuracy, it may be possible in the near future to provide meaningful information on the numbers of "probable" cases that are living.