Health officials play down CJD fears in south Dublin

Health officials are reportedly playing down fears of a cluster of vCJD cases on the Dublin-Wicklow border.

Earlier this week, a coroner in Dublin called for an investigation into possible links between three cases of the illness, the human form of BSE.

Dr Kieran Geraghty made the call at the inquest into the death of a 24-year-old CJD sufferer from Shankill in Co Dublin.

The coroner said Ireland's only other CJD fatality, a Co Offaly woman, had strong family links to the nearby Ballybrack area, while another young man across the county border in Bray had also contracted the disease.

However, reports this morning said the HSE was unaware of any CJD case in Bray, while the Department of Health was saying the evidence of a cluster was "pretty slim" given the fact that the area in question is densely populated.