They have claimed that the danger is minimal and has largely passed. Now the possibility exists of determining the incidence of nvCJD in the human population. It is known that approximately half the British population has a genetic make-up that makes them susceptible to infection. This has posed the dilemma of how to proceed in the case of positive testing. Human BSE is a disease for which there is as yet no known cure.
Diagnosis is the equivalent of a death sentence.
Yet the withholding of a positive result would further endanger public health. Researchers have already begun preparing procedures and ethical rules for the initial investigations, to be funded by the Medical Research Council. These problems notwithstanding, the ability to screen for nvCJD is an important breakthrough. It must not be allowed to be sacrificed on the altar of economic and political expediency as has happened all too often in the history of this terrible disease. The WSWS invites your comments.