Court clears medics over CJD deaths in France

Six people were cleared today over the deaths of at least 114 people in France who contracted CJD after being treated with tainted human growth hormones.

The verdict followed a 16-year investigation into the deaths from Creutzfeldt-Jakob or “mad cow” disease.

The Paris court threw out charges including manslaughter against six doctors and pharmacists in the verdict.

The case stemmed from a 20-year programme that involved collecting hormones from the pituitary glands of human corpses to treat thousands of French children who suffered from a deficiency in the secretion of growth hormone.

The programme ended in 1988.