Girl, 13, Shows CJD Symptoms...11/23/99

A 13-year-old girl may have become the youngest victim of the human form of mad cow disease.

The teenager, whose identity and whereabouts are being kept secret, is thought to be displaying symptoms of new variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease.

If the case is confirmed, it has major implications. It raises the question of whether she was infected by baby food, and may shed light on the disease's incubation period.

The girl was less than a year old in 1986 when BSE, the cattle disease thought to manifest itself in humans as the new variant form of CJD, was formally identified.

Three years later, the Government banned parts of the cow most likely to be infected, such as the brain and spinal cord, from human food products.

So far the youngest of the 48 people to have died from nvCJD has been 16.

David Churchill, chairman of the support group the Human BSE Foundation, said he was aware of the case.

Although the disease could only be confirmed for certain after death, the girl was showing signs and behaviour known to be linked with nvCJD.

"I can confirm that the story is true - the girl is showing symptoms of the disease," said Mr Churchill. "This case raises a whole new spectre. There's no way anyone can say this child picked up nvCJD prior to knowledge about BSE. Back in 1986, BSE was not only identified but becoming prevalent.

"It can only have been picked up after the emergence of BSE, and the likelihood is that it was through baby food."