[jim-x]

“I wonder what the source of infection was? Goat? Squirrel? Deer? Sheep?”

Beef (hence the ‘mad cow’ designation)

[trisham]

This case is the fourth to be reported in the United States. In each of the three previous cases, infection likely occurred outside the United States, including the United Kingdom (2 cases) and Saudi Arabia (1 case). The history of this fourth patient, including extensive travel to Europe and the Middle East, supports the likelihood that infection occurred outside the United States.

[vetvetdoug]

Prion CJD can originate from several animal sources of brain tissue. This article never mentioned the source variant of CJD. There is even a disease called “Kuru” that is human source CJD. Sheep, goats, deer, and bovine all have prions.