The hospital said that instruments used on an earlier patient inflicted with mad cow disease were the culprits. The instruments had received routine washing and sterilization, but the hospital now acknowledges that routine sterilization may not be enough to eliminate the risk of spreading the disease. Twenty eight year old, Mr. Rebert underwent brain surgery in April to remove an afflicted part of his brain that subjected him to severe epileptic seizures. Mr. Rebert says he was told by a Tulane neurosurgeon that he might have contracted the mad cow variant during the surgery. The disease can only be confirmed by an autopsy and it can take anywhere from six months to several years to develop.
Death usually occurs within one year after the symptoms first appear.
In Europe, the mad cow crisis reached a climax this month with a skyrocketing number of countries banning Western European beef due to concerns of contamination. The first week of December alone saw exports of high-risk beef banned by Yugoslavia, the Philippines, Egypt, Macedonia, Hungary and Sweden. Thus far, mad cow disease has killed more than 80 people in Britain and France. Spain, too, has confirmed its second case, and two deaths in a Polish hospital have been linked to the disease. Beyond Europe, Japan has called for a meeting to study ways to prevent an outbreak such as the one now rattling Europe.