What is Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease?

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is a neurological illness believed to be caused by a prion, a newly identified type of disease-causing agent. It is different from a virus in that there is no immune response to infection, and that there is a very long time between infection and onset of symptoms. However, like viruses, it must invade living cells to cause damage and to multiply.

Is this the same as "Mad Cow Disease"?

No. "Mad Cow Disease" is similar but distinguishably different from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. "Mad Cow Disease" tends to cause illness in individuals who are much younger, generally in their twenties and thirties. No cases of "Mad Cow Disease" have been identified in the United States.

Who gets Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease?

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease tends to strike the elderly. Most individuals who have become ill with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in the United States have been between 65 and 80 years of age.

How is Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease spread?

It is not known how most cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease were transmitted. It is known that some types of surgery, such as corneal transplants and tissue grafts taken from individuals who died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease occasionally have transmitted Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. Precautions are now in place to ensure that this does not occur. Organ transplants are not taken from anyone who has died or is suspected to have died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.

What are the symptoms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease?

An individual with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease has slowly progressing confusion, difficulty with coordination, loss of memory and thinking skills. All of this occurs over a period of 3 to 12 months and ends in death.

How is Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease diagnosed?

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is diagnosed primarily by clinical symptoms and an EEG (a test which measures electrical activity in the brain). A CT scan (a computer generated image of the brain) showing wasting of the brain may also be helpful in diagnosis.

What is the treatment for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease?

There is no treatment for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease other than supportive care.

Is a person with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease infectious to others?

No. Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease does not appear to be transmitted from person-to-person while the infected person is alive.

More about Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.

• Surveillance Case Definitions