Behind the Headlines: Is vCJD infection more common?(variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease)

Reports claim that more people than previously thought are at risk of vCJD. Jo Carlowe reports.

What is the story?

National newspapers have reported that significant levels of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) could be hidden within the population.

The story was based on an article report on the findings of experts at the Institute for Animal Health and the National CJD Surveillance Unit.

The research, led by the institute's Professor Jean Manson, focused on the gene that makes the normal version of the rogue prion protein involved in vCJD.

So far, virtually all cases of vCJD in humans have been in people with one particular genetic profile.

But mouse tests suggest that those with other gene …