The mysterious disease that puts Canada on alert

A rare brain disease affects people of all age groups in the Canadian province of New Brunswick.

The disease resembles mad cow disease and worries residents, after identifying 43 cases and 5 deaths. “People wonder: what is it? Why is it only here? We hope someone will tell us “, said Friday Anita Savoie Robichaud, mayor of Shippagan – a town on the Acadian Peninsula, according to the ABC :.

The internal public health memorandum sent to health professionals this month says that the disease affects all age groups.

According to the CBC community, the disease has similarities to the well-known Creutzfeldt-Jakob (CJD), a rare and fatal brain disease known as mad cow disease.

However, although it is similar to CJD, experts say it is not the same. According to Neil Cashman, a professor at the University of British Columbia School of Medicine, the case is new and work is needed to uncover the causes and causes as early as possible.

It should be noted that a year ago scientists and epidemiologists began to meet to analyze Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. However, Cashman says the fact that he has become public news has been of great help as scientists and experts from across Canada have come together to unravel the problem.

On the other hand, the expert assured that the fact that the cases are limited to certain regions may give a clue that it is an environmental toxin. Depending on the hypothesis, it may be beta-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA), a neurotoxin produced by certain bacteria that accumulate in fish and shellfish.

Another hypothesis is that it is domoic acid, a toxin produced by bacteria that also accumulates in shellfish, sardines and anchovies. On the list of possible causes, lead joins the factors. “It’s all speculation at this point. It will take a lot of scientific acumen to pin down a cause, ”Cashman pointed out for the outlet.

He also pointed out that given the concern of the populations, there is no understandable term that scientists can come up with, since this is a time trial investigation and that even if they wanted to know results, all safety measures must be taken before informing the public.

For now, the doctor has advised residents to continue their work normally while continuing to take care of COVID 19.

“I know this sounds like a well-worn statement, but I would tell you to stay calm, to keep going,” he said. “We have to find out and the Public Health Agency of Canada is in a good position to do it and come up with a cause … and of course it can be improved,” Cashman concluded.