LONDON (Reuters)
- The number of ``definite and probable'' cases of variant Creutzfeldt
Jakob Disease (vCJD), the human form of mad cow disease (BSE),
has risen to 79, Britain's Department of Health said Monday.
The official
figures show the number of cases of the disease has risen by two
since the last set of figures were released in July. The numbers
include six probable, but unconfirmed deaths from the disease.
Government
scientists warned on August 1 there was a theoretical risk that
vCJD could be transmitted from person to person via dental instruments.
An urgent
inquiry has also been launched after a cluster of deaths from
the brain-wasting disease was found around the village of Queniborough
in Leicestershire, central England.
The Spongiform
Encephalopathy Advisory Committe (SEAC) said last month that cases
of the disease were increasing by between 20 and 30 percent a
year.
Writing in
the medical journal, The Lancet, Dr Robert Will, head of the government's
CJD surveillance unit, said: ``The absolute number of cases in
the UK is still low, but such an increase should be a matter of
concern.''
SEAC said
the team investigating the Leicestershire deaths was likely to
report within the next few months and could cast new light on
the transmission of the disease.
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