[Mike]

Between massive fish die-offs, CWD in the Elk and Deer population
and the ever growing avian to human viruses and all the various
human syndrome illnesses have jumped in number, it becomes
increasing more difficult to understand where this all begins.
Is it a coincidence that the timing all seemed to start at the same
time as the Aerosol Operation kicked-up in earnest in the fall of
1998?
Bridget

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N28342408.htm
Idaho confirms 3rd death from rare brain disease

SALMON, Idaho, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Test results confirm a rare brain-
wasting illness similar to mad cow disease claimed the life of a 53
year-old northern Idaho woman earlier this month, state health
officials said on Wednesday.

The results bring to three the number of confirmed cases this year
in Idaho of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, an incurable illness
involving a malformed protein that kills brain cells.

Idaho officials believe a naturally occurring form of the disease is
responsible for the three cases and may be involved in an additional
four deaths this year.

Further testing is under way to rule out variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob
Disease, considered the human form of mad cow disease and linked to
eating beef from infected cattle.

The naturally occurring form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, whose
cause is unknown and which is not contagious, typically is found at
an annual rate of one case per million Americans.
Idaho, with a population of 1.4 million, already has exceeded the
expected number of cases in a year, prompting concern among medical
professionals.

“Any time you have more cases of a disease than you expect, you want
to know why,” said Cheryle Becker, epidemiology manager for Idaho’s
South Central District Health.
Becker’s office has overseen the probe into two confirmed cases of
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and is investigating two more suspected
cases.

“For that part of the country, it seems to be an unusual number of
cases,” said Ermias Belay, a Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease expert with
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The specter of mad cow disease has sparked alarm among some
residents of a state whose industries include cattle production.
Becker and others are cautioning the public not to overreact.
“We don’t want to panic people about this,” she said. “We don’t have
information that would cause people to change their lives in any
manner.”

Tom Shanahan, a spokesman for the Idaho Department of Health and
Welfare, said an analysis of data the agency has collected on
confirmed and suspected Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease victims shows few
common denominators other than all were at least 50 years old and
lived in Idaho.