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Deaths from the human form of mad cow disease in Britain have been rising by
a third on average each year since 1995, when the first three deaths from
variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease occurred. “Such an increase is clearly a
matter of concern, although…the absolute number of cases is low,” say
epidemiologists in The Lancet (vol 356, p 481). By 4 August, the UK CJD
Surveillance Unit in Edinburgh had identified 79 cases. But the rate is
increasing, with 15 deaths already this year compared with 18 for the whole of
1998. “Until it’s known whether this increasing trend is maintained over time,…