Family ask how son caught CJD here

The family of a 24-year-old man who was diagnosed late last year with variant CJD, want to know how their son contracted the disease since he had never travelled abroad, the Dáil was told.

Labour TD Eamon Gilmore said that it was "clear that he contracted the disease here in this country. This raises the question as to the adequacy of the safeguards which are in place to prevent vCJD arising in this country".

The family of the man, who remains seriously ill in a Dublin hospital, were "entitled to some explanation" he said of the first indigenous case of the disease.

But Minister of State for Health Brian Lenihan said it was "virtually impossible to identify a specific source of infection" because the incubation period for vCJD, the human form of BSE, is considered to be several years. It is a rare degenerative fatal brain disease.

Speaking for Minister for Health Mary Harney, Mr Lenihan said the "probability is that he contracted it before the current very strict controls on the sale of meat in Ireland were brought into force in 1996".

When the case first came into the public domain last November, Mr Lenihan told the Dáil there was a "strong possibility" that the young man was infected by beef imported from Britain.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland had stressed that "BSE controls in place in Ireland since 1996 are very strict and there are layers of robust control measures to ensure maximum consumer protection in relation to BSE."

Mr Lenihan insisted that "there are no public health issues in this case. The patient has never received a blood transfusion. He was never a blood donor and he has not received any invasive medical treatments." The Minister said he had been "assured that the measures in place to protect public health, particularly in relation to the protection of the blood supply, are in accordance with best international practice".

A national vCJD advisory group has been established which provides scientific, professional and technical advice on all aspects of CJD and appropriate policy responses. The initial conclusion of the CJD advisory group and the medical director of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service is that the situation in this case "does not require that any other measure, apart from those already in place, need be taken".

Mr Gilmore also asked if the Government planned to establish a compensation fund for victims, similar to the one in the UK.