The Journal Gazette's Michael Schroeder is the author of a story in the paper's Sunday edition about the cluster of Creutzfeldt Jakob cases in northeastern Indiana. This is a frightening and horrible disease.
I wrote a post for Fort Wayne Observed about CJD in January. The post remarked on legislation introduced to require tracking of CJD cases by the in the State of Indiana. The WTHR-TV report which was cited featured the CJD death of Jean Burgette. I wrote:
Jean Burgette was my friend. I saw her several times during the course of her illness. You cannot comprehend the terrifying swiftness of this disease that robs you of the person before it robs the person of life. The television report does not even hint at the awfulness of the neurological symptoms which occur after the personality and cognition are lost.
The legislation is sound and should be passed.
The legislative session ended without the legislation being passed.
The JG's Michael Schroeder wrote in this morning's paper:
In either case, CJD “is rapidly progressive and always fatal,” according to the CDC. “Infection with this disease leads to death usually within 1 year of onset of illness.”
Unlike certain highly contagious conditions such as TB, the disorder is not considered reportable in Indiana.
Still, state epidemiologist Bob Teclaw says Indiana keeps an eye on cases by tracking death certificates. For now, he’s not drawing any conclusions from the deaths in northeast Indiana.
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