CN N.B. health officials tracking cluster of patients with unknown brain disease

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N.B. health officials tracking cluster of patients with unknown brain disease | Globalnews.ca

"We are collaborating with different national groups and experts; however, no clear cause has been identified at this time."
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New Brunswick health officials are alerting the province’s doctors, nurses and pharmacists about a growing cluster of people with a neurological syndrome of unknown origin.

Symptoms of the condition are similar to those of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare degenerative brain disorder, chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell told reporters Thursday.

NB Health Authority contacts over 700 patients after detecting rare degenerative brain disease

There are 43 cases under investigation in the province, with 35 confirmed and eight suspected cases, Russell said.

“It most likely is a new disease. We haven’t seen this anywhere else,” she said. The condition has largely been detected by doctors in the Moncton region and the northeastern part of the province, she said.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us in terms of trying to determine the cause, so it’s too early really to say very much more,” Russell said.


News of the unknown syndrome first emerged through a March 5 memo from deputy chief medical officer of health Dr. Cristin Muecke to the province’s various medical professional associations. The note asks anyone who suspects they may have come across a patient with the illness to refer them to a specialized clinic.

“We are collaborating with different national groups and experts; however, no clear cause has been identified at this time,” Muecke said in the memo.


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CANADA

N.B. health officials tracking cluster of patients with unknown brain disease​

By Sarah Smellie in St. John's with a file from Danielle Edwards The Canadian Press
Posted March 18, 2021 12:02 pm

Click to play video: 'Brain Awareness Week'



Brain Awareness week (March 15th-19th) is an annual event that promotes the importance and impact of neuroscience research. The Brain Repair Centre in Halifax is celebrating with a variety of online resources and events.
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New Brunswick health officials are alerting the province’s doctors, nurses and pharmacists about a growing cluster of people with a neurological syndrome of unknown origin.
Symptoms of the condition are similar to those of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare degenerative brain disorder, chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell told reporters Thursday.
READ MORE: N.B. health authority contacts over 700 patients after detecting rare degenerative brain disease
There are 43 cases under investigation in the province, with 35 confirmed and eight suspected cases, Russell said.
“It most likely is a new disease. We haven’t seen this anywhere else,” she said. The condition has largely been detected by doctors in the Moncton region and the northeastern part of the province, she said.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us in terms of trying to determine the cause, so it’s too early really to say very much more,” Russell said.

News of the unknown syndrome first emerged through a March 5 memo from deputy chief medical officer of health Dr. Cristin Muecke to the province’s various medical professional associations. The note asks anyone who suspects they may have come across a patient with the illness to refer them to a specialized clinic.
“We are collaborating with different national groups and experts; however, no clear cause has been identified at this time,” Muecke said in the memo.
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According to the memo, the first known case dates to 2015 but was identified later. Eleven more were found in 2019, 24 were detected in 2020 and four more had been identified in 2021 at the time the memo was written. A Health Department spokesperson said three more cases have since been flagged for investigation.
Five people with the unknown syndrome have died, the memo said. Symptoms include rapidly progressing dementia, muscle spasms, atrophy and a host of other complications.
An equal number of men and women have been afflicted with the illness, and the median age of the patients is 59 years old, though the average female patient is 54 and the average male patient is 62, Muecke said in the memo. By contrast, dementia is most prevalent in people over 65, according to Statistics Canada.
“The unfortunate part is that it is affecting some younger people, so it is something that we’re looking into right now and collecting as much information as we can,” Russell said Thursday.

When asked why the memo was sent March 5 given that cases have been developing over several years, Russell said the situation has been evolving. “We’ve been working with our local physicians and public health, and at the national level,” she said. “So once they decided it did meet the criteria for a cluster and that we should be looking further into it, that’s when we started that process.”
 
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Lock em down, 3 weeks to flatten the curve, stay home to save lives etc etc.

Let’s have another year of national compliance demonstrations. See how far they can push the rules on this one - maybe they’ll finally insist people wear masks at all times while eating cereal.
 
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Nejo said:
A literal case of an unknown madness spreading, i wonder if the increase was merely a miss-identifying issue or if it is an actual transmittable disease
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Prion diseases usually aren't transmissible (unless you eat the brains of a victim, which is ill advised but relatively uncommon, even in Canada)

43+ cases of an unknown prion disease in one area at the same time is terrifying, though. These diseases are 100% fatal. No cure, no treatment, only palliative care.
 
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usernames can change now! said:
Prion diseases usually aren't transmissible (unless you eat the brains of a victim, which is ill advised but relatively uncommon, even in Canada)

43+ cases of an unknown prion disease in one area at the same time is terrifying, though. These diseases are 100% fatal. No cure, no treatment, only palliative care.
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There is a way to prevent prions from spreading by removing a specific gene from DNA, however gene removal fucks with sleep (like in FFI) so its extremely experimental at best (and its only worked on mice).
 
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Honored guest said:
Chronic wasting disease can be picked up from the environment which is why it spreads so quickly, if it made the jump from deer to humans things would certainly get interesting.
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It already happened before a few times in the United States. Coming into contact with brains, nervous system, spinal fluids and a few other internal organs is all it takes to get it.
 
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