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Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) is a prion disease that was first described in 1996 in the United Kingdom. There is now strong scientific evidence that the agent responsible for the outbreak of prion disease in cows, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or 'mad cow' disease), is the same agent responsible for the outbreak of vCJD in humans.

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Neuropathologic examination of brain tissue is required to confirm a diagnosis of vCJD.

News and Highlights

Updated: October 7, 2014

Confirmed Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (variant CJD) Case in Texas

CDC and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) have completed the investigation of the recently reported fourth vCJD case in the United States.

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