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Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and sheep brain a report from central and southern Italy

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Abstract

The places of origin of 7 out of 8 patients with CJD coincide with the distribution of sheep-rearing in central and southern Italy, confirming the suggested link between this disease and eating and-or handling sheep CNS tissue. Since 6 of the 8 cases were women, it seems more likely that the virus responsible for CJD enters the body through a break in the skin of the hands and forearms in the process of foodhandling rather than via the Digestive tract. This aspect should be borne in mind when investigating the problems of CJD transmission.

Sommario

È stata studiata la distribuzione geografica dei luoghi di origine di 8 pazienti con CJD correlandola alla distribuzione, all'interno delle diverse regioni dell'Italia Centrale, e in parte Meridionale, delle aree a prevalente economia da pascolo, soprattutto pastorizia ovina. Si è indagata una eventuale connessione tra abitudini alimentari che comprendono la manipolazione a scopo alimentare ed il susseguente consumo di tessuti del SNC di ovini e la insorgenza della CJD. Viene avanzata la ipotesi che attraverso soluzioni di continuo nel rivestimento dei tegumenti delle estremità superiori, piuttosto che per la via della ingestione, l'agente virale della malattia potrebbe penetrare nell'organismo, per cui questo elemento sarebbe da tenere presente nell'affrontare i problemi connessi con le modalità di trasmissione della CJD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Divisione di Neurologia Ente Osp. Trionfale Cassia Ospedale S. Filippo Neri, Largo Gemelli, 8-00168, Roma, Italia

    Russo F. Lo & Figà-Talamanca L.

  2. Clinica Neurologica Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Gemelli, 8-00168, Roma, Italia

    Neri G.

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  1. Russo F. Lo
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  2. Neri G.
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  3. Figà-Talamanca L.
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Lo Russo, F., Neri, G. & Figà-Talamanca, L. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and sheep brain a report from central and southern Italy. Ital J Neuro Sci 1, 171–174 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02335847

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02335847

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