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Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is the name for the human version of Mad Cow disease, caused by a troublesome improperly folded prion. Mad Cow Disease (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or BSE) can cause humans to become diseased, but that is very uncommon.

These 'spongy-brain' diseases are caused by prions, which are essentially nothing more than strands of mis-folded proteins that, during normal cellular metabolism, cause other prions to mis-fold. Eventually, these mass prion mis-foldings result in great gaps or 'holes' in brain tissues, therefore the 'spongy' 'form'.

Prions aren't alive, so they can't be killed, or removed, or cooked out of your steak. They shouldn't be there in the first place, if correct cattle-handling procedures are followed. Namely, not feeding the diseased animal to other animals: the only way to transfer prions. AFAIK.

So, is this new case reported on the Cape worrisome? a Big Deal? Not so much...only 300 cases of CJD are reported in the U.S. every year. None are the variant-CJD caused by eating 'infected' mad cows. None since 2005, that is.

We won't know for a few more days if this case is v-CJD, the human variant that is caused by eating a Mad Cow that somehow escaped from detection and entered the human food supply. Care of the evil cattle industry. How likely is that? From the CJD website...

...over the last few years, another type of Acquired CJD called variant (vCJD) has been identified in young people. vCJD has been linked to ingestion of beef tainted with BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), most cases have occurred in the United Kingdom.

There have been three cases of vCJD reported in the USA since this disease was identified.

The chances of this new report from the Cape being the 4th? Pretty slim.

If this new case from the Cape turns out to be vCJD really? Wow. Expect another large, worldwide, over-hyped, sensational Cape Crusadeing story...