Fears Cork father may have died from CJD

TESTS are taking place amid fears that a Cork father may have died from the rare, lethal brain disease Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).

The long-haul truck driver, aged 48, from the northside of Cork city, passed away last Saturday after being struck down with a still unconfirmed illness.

The English man, who had been living in Ireland for more than a decade after marrying a Cork woman, was buried on Thursday at St Catherine’s cemetery in Kilcully after undergoing treatment for a number of weeks.

His name is known to the Irish Examiner but has not been published out of respect to the family.

Preliminary results from the postmortem were sent to Britain to identify the exact cause of death earlier this week amid fears he may have been suffering from CJD.

The HSE, which confirmed the move yesterday, has stressed they have not been informed of any potential cases of the condition from doctors who were treating the man at Cork University Hospital.

A spokesperson said that under existing guidelines the specialist would have immediately contacted public health officials to warn them of the potential cause of death.

However, the family of the man is understood to have been privately told it is suspected that the father-of-two lost his life after contracting CJD.

The condition is a lethal degenerative neurological disorder for which there is no cure.

It is believed to be closely linked to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) — more commonly known as mad cow disease — and acts by effectively causing holes in brain tissue.

This occurs when the protein at the centre of the condition, prion, develops in a way that causes it to fold in on itself.

The main initial symptoms of the condition are dementia, memory loss and hallucinations.

This is generally followed by speech problems, co-ordination and seizures.

A correct diagnosis cannot be made until after a postmortem and further tests to verify the cause of death.

It is unknown how the long-haul lorry driver may have contracted the lethal disease. To date, no other potential cases have been identified in Ireland relating to the suspected Cork death.