A Mad Cow-Like Prion Disease Has Killed Two People and Sickened a Third in Same Oregon Town

A small Oregon county has been struck by one of the rarest but scariest ailments known to exist. Health officials in Hood River County have reported an unusual cluster of people coming down with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, or CJD. Three residents in the area have contracted CJD over the past eight months, according to the Hood River County Health Department, two of whom are already dead. Local and federal health officials are now investigating the cluster, but they have not identified a link between the cases to date. CJD and similar brain diseases are caused by a misfolded version of the naturally occurring prion protein. When these rogue proteins come into contact with their harmless brethren, they convert them into more misfolded prions, acting almost like a zombie invasion. The accumulation of prions steadily destroys the brain, though it can take years or even decades for symptoms to appear. Once they do, however, death quickly follows. Thankfully for humanity, prion ailments ar ... Read full article.