The real fact in the USA is, CJD isn't a reportable disease in most states, and even then, many are misdiagnosed. Rapid onset is a sure sign of mad cow. This is excactly what happened in the UK. The story doesn't mention if some of the victims were younger.
I also notice they are trying to pass it off to wild meat, and to people who may have traveled to europe, just like they did about 5 years ago when there was another string of deaths by CJD in another state.
The real truth is cows get it naturaly, about one cow in a million, just like humans get it naturaly at about the same rate.
we don't find all the cows, and that's a concern.
We don't diagnose all the human cases properly in all states, and that's a concern as well. It should be reportable in every state, and EVERY single sudden onset case in humans should be investigated and confirmed, which can only be done by autopsy. Regular CJD is slow onset, variant CJD is rapid onset, affects young people within 5 years of eating bad beef.
We need to test every single cow, that's the only way to be safe.
What's worse, is it is transferable human to human from blood products, even surgical equipment. Those prions can servive sterilization. We have to be very carefull with this stuff. It is worse than aids if it breaks out.
Seems to me, if we were talking about a human to human transmission via a health care provider, a dentist would be a likely mode of transmission.
One question: I was under the impression you had to eat organ meat (i.e. brain, liver, etc.) in order to contact "mad cow disease."