Tetsuyuki Kitamoto

The health ministry suspects the man, who was in his 50s, was infected with a variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease while in Britain for about a month in 1989.

"We believe he probably contracted the disease during his stay in Britain, given that all patients of vCJD outside Europe had visited the country," said Tetsuyuki Kitamoto, medical professor at Tohoku University and chairman of the health ministry panel of experts that determined the man had vCJD.

The human form of the fatal brain-wasting disease is believed to come from eating beef products from infected cows, particularly tissue that touches the nerves.

vCJD -- a condition in which a patient loses bodily functions as the brain deteriorates -- has been confirmed or deemed probable in 167 people worldwide -- most of them in Britain.

The deceased man first showed symptoms of the disease in December 2001 -- when he was in his 40s -- according to the health ministry.

The Japan Times Weekly: Feb. 12, 2005
(C) All rights reserved