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Friday, March 29, 2024

#HealthAlert: Man Contracts Rare Form Of Mad Cow Disease

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A man in Australian city of Sydney is fighting for his life in hospital after contracting a rare form of Mad Cow’s disease but nobody knows how he got infected.

Former Sydney Swans chief financial officer Frank Burton is critically ill in isolation at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital with doctors telling 10 News he had days left to live, weeks if he was lucky.

Mr Burton has been diagnosed with Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, an ailment that attacks the central nervous system and affects about one in a million people.

The 63-year-old was rushed to hospital a number of weeks ago when he lost all control of his limbs and fell over on a Sydney footpath.

Frank Burton has contracted a rare strain of Mad Cow Disease. (Source: Network TEN)
Frank Burton has contracted a rare strain of Mad Cow Disease. (Source: Network TEN)

Diagnosed with the sporadic version of the disease, it can lay dormant in the body for decades before being striking.

Confined to a bed in isolation at the Camperdown hospital, Mr Burton can’t eat, speak or move his limbs.

Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease is often confused with the form of Mad Cow’s disease that is contracted from eating contaminated meat, but the NSW Department of Health says most cases of this strain are caused by mutations of the patient’s brain and not from other people.

Doctor Con Costa told 10 News the disease was quite resilient and called on medical professionals to take measures to avoid its spread.

Frank Burton has contracted a rare strain of Mad Cow Disease. Source: Network TEN
Frank Burton has contracted a rare strain of Mad Cow Disease. Source: Network TEN

“The substance that transmits the disease withstands quite high temperatures, and what I’d be asking the health authorities is – well, how, do we prevent this? How do we sterilise for this?” he asked.

Friend and former Australian journalist Peter Kogoy said Mr Burton can’t dress or feed himself and said his mate now looked ‘old and withered’ and needed around the clock care.

(via Daily Telegraph)

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