HPA confirms rare disease in Chichester

A CHICHESTER resident has contracted a rare disease, the Health Protection Agency has said.

By The Newsroom

Published 20th May 2013, 16:19 BST

Updated 7th Jun 2018, 20:25 BST

The Kent, Surrey and Sussex Public Health England Centre (PHEC) has received notification of a suspected case of sporadic CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease).

CJD is a rare disease in humans, affecting the structure of the brain and potentially leading to death.

Of the four types of CJD, the sporadic strain occurs spontaneously. No one knows what causes it and it is found throughout the world. Although it is rare, it is the most common type of CJD.

In the United Kingdom, 87 people died of sporadic CJD in 2008. It affects around one in a million people each year throughout the world.

Sporadic CJD has occasionally been spread through brain surgery and eye surgery. It has also been transmitted by treatment with growth hormone and gonadotrophin prepared from infected humans.