London - Doctors investigating a cluster of five vCJD deaths in one English village said yesterday that meat may be the common cause but there was still no proof.
The inquiry was opened in July when five cases of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), the lethal human form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), were reported in a small area around the village of Queniborough.
All the victims of the brain-wasting illness have died and scientists hope that the Queniborough cases could help unravel the scientific mystery of vCJD. "If we can find the link then it will be important to ensure that the measures being taken [to fight the disease] are right," Dr Philip Monk, who is leading the investigation, said.