vCJD case: Ahern moves to ease beef safety fears

Claire O'Sullivan

Ten Irish people could fall victim to vCJD in the next five to seven years, a study by the head of the National CJD Advisory Board has revealed.

Professor William Hall said this was a worst-case scenario and that any such cases would result from meat eaten prior to the introduction of rigorous safety controls by the Department of Agriculture in 1997. The risk from current stocks of Irish meat was practically "negligible".