Kansas, Louisiana and Montana Add Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease To Their Reportable List

"CJD Aware! is monitoring various State Health Departments nationwide and they've been extremely helpful in providing us with updates on their progress in adding Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) to their required reportable list," remarked Christy Brom, founder and director of CJD Aware!, a Louisiana-based, non-profit, information organization. "By making CJD a 'required' reportable/notifiable disease in a specific state means that doctors are legally obliged to report all cases of CJD to the State Health Department."added Ms. Brom. "This can only aid in the sometimes difficult process of tracking this seemingly illusive disease by health-care professionals." Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a very rare, and difficult disease to diagnose. Some physicians who are not familiar with the signs and symptoms may understandably mistake it for other dementias, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or Pick's disease. This disease affects men and women of all backgrounds. CJD knows no boundaries nor is it contagious in the usual sense, such as catching the flu or a cold. "With the addition of Kansas, Louisiana and Montana, we're very confident that other states will follow in the future and add CJD to their list of required reportable diseases," remarked Ms. Brom. "We're also pleased to see that many State Health Departments have Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease fact sheets on their internet websites.

From these sheets, doctors can find vital information about CJD, such as how and when to report a suspected case, what specific symptoms to look for, important clinical information and safety procedures for performing autopsies, etc." added Ms. Brom.

This infectious disease has been around since the 1920's. It has been referred to as 'Alzheimer's in fast-forward' and there is no cure or treatment other than making the patient as comfortable as possible as the disease progresses.

"Someday perhaps a diagnosis of CJD would be as simple as a diagnosis for the common cold", remarked Ms. Brom. "That would be a wonderful scenario, but unfortunately, that's not the case with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. This is why CJD Aware! is committed in our goal to assist doctors and researchers with more funding and give them support in their continuing efforts to battle and win over CJD."