Yet there was evidence that abattoirs did not always adhere to the regulations. CJD deaths increasing Deaths from variant CJD, the human form of mad cow disease, have more than quadrupled. Deaths from the disease in the UK have risen from three in 1995 to 14 in 1999. Fourteen people have died from vCJD in the first six months of this year alone, compared to 18 in the whole of 1998. Like BSE, first diagnosed in 1986, it is a poorly understood condition that attacks the brain, leaving it full of holes like a bath sponge.
Victims display symptoms of dementia, becoming unsteady and confused and losing their memory.
As the brain degenerates, they decline to a state where they cannot walk, talk or look after themselves. There is no known cure. Scientists think CJD is transmitted via an infectious protein called a prion, but the precise mechanism behind the disease is unknown. The prion is known to be very resilient and capable of surviving standard sterilising processes. Alzheimer's disease is a degenerative brain disorder which can cause severe dementia.