NR AANB
AU anonym
TI Scientific consultation on human and animal spongiform encephalopathies
QU Weekly Epidemiological Record 1996 May 24; 71(21): 163
PT journal article
VT
A scientific Consultation of 18 human and animal neurologists, neuropathologists and scientists from 14 countries, all expert in the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), met at WHO headquarters in Geneva from 14 to 16 May 1996. The Consultation examined in detail the clinical, neurological and neuropathological findings associated with the newly recognized variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (V-CJD), compared these findings with data on other human TSEs, and further examined their relationship to the animal TSEs including bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). In addition, the Consultation evaluated the need for worldwide surveillance of CJD, and reviewed TSE research to date, including diagnostic tests, in order to identify areas where further research is required.
The group considered that this recently described disorder is part of the CJD spectrum; it is a new variant form of CJD on grounds of its unique clinical and pathological features. BSE has been transmitted naturally and experimentally to a range of other animal species by the oral route, and it has been suggested that the emergent cluster of the new variant form of CJD may be a consequence of exposure of the human population to the BSE agent. It should be emphasized that such a link has not been proven on epidemiological grounds. After a thorough review of the characteristics of natural and experimental TSEs, the consultation concluded that the type of lesions and clinical presentation of the new variant form of CJD do not provide information on the possible origins of this disorder. Further data are urgently required from scientific studies on these variant cases, including animal transmission and strain typing experiments. Based on the recommendations of the Consultation, WHO will coordinate an intensified worldwide system for CJD surveillance and ensure training in clinical and neuropathological diagnosis on CJD and the other human TSEs at selected collaborating centres throughout the world. In collaboration with the Office international des Epizooties (OIE), WHO will likewise ensure worldwide surveillance for the animal TSEs. Underlying these activities, WHO will continue to provide a scientific forum for exchange on research issues related to the TSEs as well as stimulate and facilitate research.
MH Animal; Human; Prion Diseases/*epidemiology
SP englisch
PO Schweiz