Government confirms second case of vCJD transmitted by blood transfusion

A second case in the United Kingdom of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (vCJD) that may have been transmitted through a blood transfusion has been been confirmed by the National CJD Surveillance Unit, the Department of Health has said.

The case involved a patient who had a blood transfusion in 1999 from a donor who later went on to develop vCJD. The patient died of causes unrelated to vCJD, but a post mortem examination showed the presence of disease causing prion proteins in the patient's spleen.

“After the …