Imaginative Worlds Paranormal and Supernatural Forum

June 19 - 20, 2013 - Stephen Meyer - Darwin & Intelligent Design

Alpha — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:00:17 GMT

Darwin & Intelligent Design

Date:	06-19-13
Host:	George Noory
Guests:	Stephen Meyer

A Cambridge trained philosopher of science, Stephen C. Meyer, will discuss how the information age has finally come to biology. He'll present an argument for intelligent design using the most controversial aspect of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution-- the "Cambrian Explosion," a rapid appearance of animal life 530 million years ago.

Website(s):

stephencmeyer.org

Book(s):

How NSA Access Was Built Into Windows

Judee — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:22:28 GMT

This is old news, but I wonder how many people have been aware of this?

How NSA access was built into Windows
Duncan Campbell 04.09.1999
Careless mistake reveals subversion of Windows by NSA.

A CARELESS mistake by Microsoft programmers has revealed that special access codes prepared by the US National Security Agency have been secretly built into Windows. The NSA access system is built into every version of the Windows operating system now in use, except early releases of Windows 95 (and its predecessors). The discovery comes close on the heels of the revelations earlier this year that another US software giant, Lotus, had built an NSA "help information" trapdoor into its Notes system, and that security functions on other software systems had been deliberately crippled.

The first discovery of the new NSA access system was made two years ago by British researcher Dr Nicko van Someren. But it was only a few weeks ago when a second researcher rediscovered the access system. With it, he found the evidence linking it to NSA.

Computer security specialists have been aware for two years that unusual features are contained inside a standard Windows software "driver" used for security and encryption functions. The driver, called ADVAPI.DLL, enables and controls a range of security functions. If you use Windows, you will find it in the C:\Windows\system directory of your computer. Anzeige

ADVAPI.DLL works closely with Microsoft Internet Explorer, but will only run cryptographic functions that the US governments allows Microsoft to export. That information is bad enough news, from a European point of view. Now, it turns out that ADVAPI will run special programmes inserted and controlled by NSA. As yet, no-one knows what these programmes are, or what they do.

Dr Nicko van Someren reported at last year's Crypto 98 conference that he had disassembled the ADVADPI driver. He found it contained two different keys. One was used by Microsoft to control the cryptographic functions enabled in Windows, in compliance with US export regulations. But the reason for building in a second key, or who owned it, remained a mystery.

A second key

Two weeks ago, a US security company came up with conclusive evidence that the second key belongs to NSA. Like Dr van Someren, Andrew Fernandez, chief scientist with Cryptonym of Morrisville, North Carolina, had been probing the presence and significance of the two keys. Then he checked the latest Service Pack release for Windows NT4, Service Pack 5. He found that Microsoft's developers had failed to remove or "strip" the debugging symbols used to test this software before they released it. Inside the code were the labels for the two keys. One was called "KEY". The other was called "NSAKEY".

Fernandes reported his re-discovery of the two CAPI keys, and their secret meaning, to "Advances in Cryptology, Crypto'99" conference held in Santa Barbara. According to those present at the conference, Windows developers attending the conference did not deny that the "NSA" key was built into their software. But they refused to talk about what the key did, or why it had been put there without users' knowledge.

A third key?!

But according to two witnesses attending the conference, even Microsoft's top crypto programmers were astonished to learn that the version of ADVAPI.DLL shipping with Windows 2000 contains not two, but three keys. Brian LaMachia, head of CAPI development at Microsoft was "stunned" to learn of these discoveries, by outsiders. The latest discovery by Dr van Someren is based on advanced search methods which test and report on the "entropy" of programming code.

Within the Microsoft organisation, access to Windows source code is said to be highly compartmentalized, making it easy for modifications to be inserted without the knowledge of even the respective product managers.

Researchers are divided about whether the NSA key could be intended to let US government users of Windows run classified cryptosystems on their machines or whether it is intended to open up anyone's and everyone's Windows computer to intelligence gathering techniques deployed by NSA's burgeoning corps of "information warriors".

According to Fernandez of Cryptonym, the result of having the secret key inside your Windows operating system "is that it is tremendously easier for the NSA to load unauthorized security services on all copies of Microsoft Windows, and once these security services are loaded, they can effectively compromise your entire operating system". The NSA key is contained inside all versions of Windows from Windows 95 OSR2 onwards.

"For non-American IT managers relying on Windows NT to operate highly secure data centres, this find is worrying", he added. "The US government is currently making it as difficult as possible for "strong" crypto to be used outside of the US. That they have also installed a cryptographic back-door in the world's most abundant operating system should send a strong message to foreign IT managers".

"How is an IT manager to feel when they learn that in every copy of Windows sold, Microsoft has a 'back door' for NSA - making it orders of magnitude easier for the US government to access your computer?" he asked.

Can the loophole be turned round against the snoopers?

Dr van Someren feels that the primary purpose of the NSA key inside Windows may be for legitimate US government use. But he says that there cannot be a legitimate explanation for the third key in Windows 2000 CAPI. "It looks more fishy", he said.

Fernandez believes that NSA's built-in loophole can be turned round against the snoopers. The NSA key inside CAPI can be replaced by your own key, and used to sign cryptographic security modules from overseas or unauthorised third parties, unapproved by Microsoft or the NSA. This is exactly what the US government has been trying to prevent. A demonstration "how to do it" program that replaces the NSA key can be found on Cryptonym's website.

According to one leading US cryptographer, the IT world should be thankful that the subversion of Windows by NSA has come to light before the arrival of CPUs that handles encrypted instruction sets. These would make the type of discoveries made this month impossible. "Had the next-generation CPU's with encrypted instruction sets already been deployed, we would have never found out about NSAKEY."

http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/5/5263/1.html

6.18.13: An all new Trickster's Realm by Regan Lee

rssposter — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 03:00:11 GMT

More...

June 18 - 19, 2013 - Dr Michael Salla - Exopolitics & Contact

Alpha — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:06:30 GMT

Always enjoy Michael Salla and his work...hope to see a bunch of you tonight!!

Exopolitics & Contact

Date:	06-18-13
Host:	George Noory
Guests:	Michael E. Salla

Pioneer in the development of 'Exopolitics,' the scholarly study of ET presence that is not acknowledged to the general public, Michael Salla, will discuss evidence of contact that is surfacing through major international agencies such as the Vatican, the Russian Government and the World Economic Forum.

Website(s):

Book(s):

Itchy Skin

maryals — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:43:04 GMT

Yes it's that time of year when we get bug bites, sunburn, and it causes itchy skin.
Why am I putting this Thread here in Conspiracy Worlds?

I posted on FaceBook about my dilemma...yes the mosquito bites are itchy but since I've been out doors, ALL my skin itches something terrible. Topicals like Lubriderm and Benydryl help some, but not always, and the relief doesn't last.
I was asking my FBF's if there was something I could take internally, besides a drug like Benydryl.

One of those FBFs wrote that he also is suffering from itchy skin, unlike anything he's experienced before, and he believes that nano technology has something to do with it! An intriguing idea.

If it's OK with yunz, let's discuss treatments here AND the possibility that something....not natural? .... is causing it.

Thanks

Mary and Baby :tinfoil2:

June 17 - 18 2013 Bigfoot & Cryptozoology

maryals — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 04:55:03 GMT

Quote:

Date: 06-17-13
Host: George Noory
Guests: Alex Hearn, Katherine Albrecht
Paranormal investigator and cryptozoology expert, Alex Hearn will discuss his involvement in the Melba Ketchum Bigfoot DNA study, as well as his work investigating Chupacabras, Thunderbirds, jaguars and black cats. He'll also cover various UFO sightings in Arizona and the southwest.

First Hour: Privacy advocate Katherine Albrecht comments on the NSA spying revelations, and related events.

Website(s):
azcro.net
examiner.com
livestream.com/azcronews
katherinealbrecht.com
Book(s):
Spychips

This looks pretty interesting and with all this sunlight even at midnight I can't go to bed anyway!
So I'll be lurking around, here at IW, at FB at Twitter...I'll check back into the TO from time to time to see if anyone else stops by :yup:

Mary and Baby :tinfoil2:

Happy Birthday Pyrite

maryals — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:58:37 GMT

Let's Celebrate...you made it thru another year, we've enjoyed another year of your friendship :dance:

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Mary and Baby :dance:

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Energy from Space

blackeyes — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:24:12 GMT

A very interesting theory about what is happening on Earth and what is coming in our near future.

BC Mega-Earthquake: Coastal Area Is At Risk Says Study

Judee — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:22:58 GMT

BC Mega-Earthquake: Coastal Area Is At Risk, According To Study
By Dene Moore, The Canadian Press 06/12/2013

VANCOUVER - The last massive earthquake that shook the south coast of British Columbia took place on the cold winter night of Jan. 26, 1700, say researchers who have been able to use sediment samples taken from the sea floor off the coast of Vancouver Island to reveal the Pacific coast's seismic history.

In a study published Wednesday, the team said the region that stretches from the northern tip of Vancouver Island down the coast to northern California has experienced 22 major earthquakes over the last 11,000 years, and is due for another.

Audrey Dallimore, of the School of Environment and Sustainability at Royal Roads University and the author of the study, said the research showed earthquakes occur every 500 to 1,000 years.

The last one took place 313 years ago.

"What that means is we're due for another subduction zone earthquake either tomorrow � or 700 years from now," she said.

"(It) may happen within our lifetimes and will certainly happen at some time over the life of our communities and our infrastructures."

Researchers extracted a sediment core from the sea floor of Effingham Inlet, in Barclay Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and used radiocarbon dating to determine when large or so-called megathrust earthquakes occurred on what is known as the Cascadia subduction zone.

"The sediments preserved on the bottom of Effingham Inlet resemble the rings of a tree," Dallimore said, explaining that each year is represented by a thin layer of sediment.

"These layers have given us a story of what happened in Effingham Inlet year by year back all the way to the end of the last glaciations about 11,000 years ago."

By radiocarbon dating interruptions in the sediment, researchers determined large earthquakes also took place about 1,200 and 4,000 years ago.

The first seismograph was installed in Victoria in 1898, so written records of B.C. seismic activity goes back only a little more than a century but Japanese written records confirm that a tsunami occurred from a magnitude-8 or 9 quake along the North American coast about 9 p.m. on Jan 26, 1700.

A megathrust earthquake occurs when a piece of the earth�s crust is forced underneath another plate.

The quakes are of magnitude 9 or greater, and both the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake that caused the tsunami in Indonesia and the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan were megathrust events.

There has never been a megathrust earthquake along the west coast in the written history of Canada, but the study confirmed First Nations oral histories and found that megathrust earthquakes occur about every 500 years in the region, although they can stretch out for up to 1,000 years.

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake that occurred off the west coast of Haida Gwaii last October was the second-largest ever recorded in Canada but it was not a megathrust quake.

B.C. forms part of the North American portion of what is called the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a 40,000 km horseshoe of ocean trenches and volcanoes where 90 per cent of the world's earthquakes take place.

According to Natural Resources Canada, the Geological Survey of Canada records more than 1,000 earthquakes in western Canada each year. More than 100 magnitude 5 or greater earthquakes have been recorded in the ocean west of Vancouver Island in the past 70 years.

Scientists cannot predict when earthquakes will happen, said John Clague, a professor of earth sciences at Simon Fraser University.

But this and other studies show they are inevitable in this region, he said.

And while a megathrust quake is rare and may occur up to one every millennium, other, smaller quakes occur more frequently.

Previous research suggests massive quakes occur in clusters, and it's unclear where B.C. is in the cluster interval, Clague said.

"They are inevitable and although it may not occur in my lifetime it certainly will occur when Seattle, Vancouver, Victoria are thriving cities," he said.

"So we do have to prepare for these things. Societally, we owe it to our children and our grandchildren and so on to be as ready as we can for what is inevitable."

The research by experts at Royal Roads, the Geological Survey of Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Fisheries and Oceans, UBC and the University of California is published in the current issue of the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version gave an incorrect figure for how many years have passed since the last megathrust.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06...n_3425980.html

June 16 - 17, 2013 - Bobcat & Bigfoot/ Paranormal News

Alpha — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 06:53:21 GMT

Bobcat & Bigfoot/ Paranormal News

Date:	06-16-13
Host:	George Knapp
Guests:	Bobcat Goldthwait, Don Ecker

First Half: George Knapp is joined by comedian, actor, author, and filmmaker, Bobcat Goldthwait, who'll discuss his new film that delves into the world of Bigfoot.

2nd Half: Researcher and radio host Don Ecker shares updates on UFOs and the paranormal.

Website(s):

darkmattersradio.com

The Summer of the 50's & 60's Vintage TV Trivia Test

Dr Powerfun — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 04:41:49 GMT

Here's some classic TV Guide covers from summer seasons past. Along with the actors' names can you cite the associated show and characters? Take a shot! (Clues and answers available upon request.)

THE 50's

THE 60's

2 UFOs Caught on Camera Over Bracknell, Berkshire

samantha360 — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 02:34:07 GMT

Steve Lambert caught these two UFOs on camera hovering over the skies of Bracknell, Berkshire, on the night of Friday 14 June.

Quote:

"They were heading south-west at speed towards Basingstoke - quicker than any normal aircraft. They were there for less than five seconds," the 42-year-old told getreading about the unusual sighting.

Quote:

"I have seen a lot of funny things in the sky and I have always practised trying to take a photo quickly on my mobile phone," Lambert said.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/47...lands-disc.htm

Posting pictures, videos, etc.

Judee — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 23:58:44 GMT

The tool bar for posting pictures, videos, etc. isn't coming up for me anymore when I hit reply, or start a new thread. I switched from light skin to space, and same thing. :dunno: Anyone else got this problem?

Splenda (Sucralose): Miracle Sweetener Or Cause of Leukemia?

Judee — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 17:14:54 GMT

Splenda� Sucra-Highs and Sucralose: Miracle Sweetener or Cause of Leukemia?
June 15th 2013 at 1:45 pm
Written By: Tania Melkonian

While millions around the world consume foods and beverages sweetened with Splenda (sucralose) with abandon, an accumulating body of research indicates that this synthetic chemical is far from safe, may contribute to obesity and blood sugar disorders, and more recently has even been linked to leukemia in animal experiments.

For several years now, Greenmedinfo (GMI) has consolidated scientific study abstracts from the National Library of Medicine about Splenda (sucralose) and its potential health related effects. Two articles citing the most compelling research are The Bitter Truth about Splenda and Splenda (Sucralose) Found to have Diabetes Promoting Effects, both by GMI's founder, Sayer Ji. The former refers to its xenobiotic nature, i.e. its metabolically foreign chemical properties, 1 and provides evidence that when the sensation of sweetness is disassociated from 'food,' i.e. a source of calories or nutrition, it is either unrecognizable by the body, or disrupts the body neuroendocrine system in an adverse manner. 2

The latter article focuses on the potential sucralose has to promote diabetic and /or pre-diabetic disease processes within the human body. The results delineated in the study point to just a single dose of sucralose resulting in increases in blood sugar concentration, increases in insulin levels and decreases in insulin sensitivity, all of which are possible pre-cursors to diabetes. 3

The study came to the attention of a Johnson & Johnson spokesperson, who submitted a rebuttal letter to our founder. View it here.

On the surface, the J&J rebuttal reasonably addresses the points of view expressed in these articles. However, on further analysis, it is clear that several of its criticisms are superficial: namely, that the study did not test subjects with diabetes (even though the sucralose ingestion is clearly attributed to an increase in blood glucose levels and insulin secretion in subjects) and second, the methodology of the study which, Thomas notes, was 'small.. and was not backed by scientific collective data' 4

Despite the J&J spokesperson's criticism of the verifiability of the study referenced in the GMI article, as well as the glaring fact that several of the studies she refers to that found there were no adverse effects of Splenda were funded by the manufacturer of the chemical, the declaration with which she closes her rebuttal is egregiously lacking in scientific evidence itself. "Experts from around the world have found that SPLENDA� Brand Sweetener is suitable for everyone, including those with diabetes. Up to 4 packets of SPLENDA� No Calorie Sweetener or up to 8 teaspoons of SPLENDA� No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated, are considered a "free food" in a meal plan for people with diabetes. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the American Diabetes Association consider a free food for people with diabetes to be any food or beverage that contains less than 20 calories and 5 grams or less of carbohydrate per serving. In fact, SPLENDA� Brand Sweetener can play a useful role in diabetes management."

On May 30 the Daily Mail published an article online with the headline "Could artificial sweetener CAUSE diabetes? Splenda 'modifies way the body handles sugar', increasing insulin production by 20%" which represents a view in direct opposition to J&J's refutation. There were a number of methods in this study which were markedly different from other similar studies on the effects of Splenda. For example, the study used subjects who were clinically obese with the rationale that artificial sweeteners, like Splenda, are often prescribed to overweight individuals. In this study, which was published in the 'Journal Diabetes Care', all subjects were tested over two visits. If, during one visit a subject was given water to drink before being given glucose water, during the other he or she was given sucralose dissolved in water before drinking the glucose. Participants who drank sucralose prior to consuming glucose saw a 20% higher increase in insulin levels. Over time, this could lead to insulin resistance. Moreover, in many studies on the effects of artificial sweeteners, the sweetener is given to study participants by itself. In fact, notes, Yanina Pepino, the research assistant & professor of medicine at the Washington School of Medicine who lead the study, artificial sweeteners are rarely consumed on their own. They are usually used to sweeten other foods. So, she concludes, their effect in combination with other foods is significant. 'Our results indicate that this artificial sweetener is not inert - it does have an effect,' said Pepino.

More recently, on June 12th, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPINET), decided to downgrade Splenda's safety rating in its Chemical Cuisine guide to food additives. According to the CSPINET's website:

"The nonprofit food safety watchdog group had long rated sucralose as "safe," but is now placing it in the "caution" category pending a review of an unpublished study by an independent Italian laboratory that found that the sweetener caused leukemia in mice. The only previous long-term feeding studies in animals were conducted by the compound's manufacturers."

The CSPINET's Chemical Cuisine page on sucralose elaborated on the leukemia link:

"...what might be the greatest cause for concern, in 2012 an independent Italian laboratory announced (but has not yet published) a study that found that sucralose caused leukemia in mice that were exposed from before birth. That was the same lab that several years earlier published studies indicating that aspartame caused cancers in rats and mice."

Any argument can be made or destroyed by the deftness with which relevant statistics are highlighted or diluted � whatever the case may be. Certainly, it is true that a study is only as strong as its statistical integrity, its field process, the objectivity of the funding and regulating bodies and its relevance. Relying solely on the circumferential, however, may serve merely to distract readers toward what they may already � albeit unconsciously � believe or want to believe. If that is true then neither manipulating statistics nor journalistic smoke and mirrors will do anything to truly educate or inform and certainly won't change anyone's mind. Perhaps the only way to begin is with unassailable truths. Let's do that.
Undisputed fact #1: "Sucralose/Splenda is produced through artificially substituting three hydroxyl groups (hydrogen + oxygen) with three chlorine atoms in the sugar (sucrose) molecule."
Undisputed fact #2: the above chemical process renders sucralose a synthetic chlorocarbon.
Undisputed #3 many pesticides, disinfectants and Chlorox Bleach are also contain or are composed of synthetic chlorocarbons.

The above are incontestable and, therefore, form solid base from which to answer the fundamental questions of whether or not Splenda is safe (at the initial level of enquiry) or (further along in the assessment process) beneficial, as its manufacturers and government regulator 'cheerleaders' maintain.

Let's assume for a moment that none of the unassailable facts about sucralose listed above are compelling enough - individually or taken together � to dissuade its use by many. We can move on to the question of whether or not it is beneficial. After all, if we return the argument to its most lucid layer, aren't we just fighting for the general acceptance of a substitute for something we don't even need in its original rendition? Do we really need to analyze this alternative sweetener when the thing for which it provides an alternative (sugar) is, itself, superfluous at best. (At worst, it encourages inflammation, cancer and blood dysfuntion. For the sake of argument, however, we can consider it innocuous). In the same way that make-up is neither necessary to human function nor universally employed, sugar is highly recognized as toxic and avoided by many. So, developing and selling permanent make-up products in order to provide a more convenient alternative to an already unnecessary commodity, is akin to what we are doing with sucralose. It seems shallow and exhaustive to focus on the 'permanent make-up' when we should be asking ourselves why we are so desperately reliant on the make-up in the first place.

During the period in pre-history when we were grass-eaters, hunters and gatherers and the period during which our metabolic infrastructure was allegedly established, our sweet tooth was satisfied with fruit, honey, and of course, the first sweet taste of nourishment, which is lactose-rich breast milk. We should examine our extreme need for sweetness in a concentrated, supplemental form and spend research dollars and time figuring out how we got here and back pedal ourselves out. We need to rinse our faces clean and find the natural blush in the apple of our cheeks and get our sugar high from our apples.

1. Despite the intended insinuation, sucralose is not a form of sucrose (cane sugar). Sucralose/Splenda is produced through artificially substituting three hydroxyl groups (hydrogen + oxygen) with three chlorine atoms in the sugar (sucrose) molecule. Natural sugar is a hydrocarbon built around 12 carbon atoms. When transformed into Splenda it becomes a chlorocarbon, in the same family as deadly pesticides like DDT, insecticides, biocides, disinfectants like Chlorox Bleach, and WWI poison gas like dichlorourea

2. When one uncouples the experience of "sweetness" from caloric content, the body becomes confused because it does not receive nourishment and therefore will not attain satiety � this, in turn, leads to overindulgence. Indeed, new studies have shown exactly this: those who consume synthetic sweeteners are more prone to obesity. What this means is that when we ingest something sweet, it should also have caloric and nutritional content. Anything less than this equation is a recipe for failure and ill health.

3. We evaluated the acute effects of sucralose ingestion on the metabolic response to an oral glucose load in obese subjects.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSSeventeen obese subjects (BMI 42.3 � 1.6 kg/m(2)) who did not use NNS and were insulin sensitive (based on a homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance score ≤2.6) underwent a 5-h modified oral glucose tolerance test on two separate occasions preceded by consuming either sucralose (experimental condition) or water (control condition) 10 min before the glucose load in a randomized crossover design. Indices of β-cell function, insulin sensitivity (SI), and insulin clearance rates were estimated by using minimal models of glucose, insulin, and C-peptide kinetics. RESULTSCompared with the control condition, sucralose ingestion caused 1) a greater incremental increase in peak plasma glucose concentrations (4.2 � 0.2 vs. 4.8 � 0.3 mmol/L; P = 0.03), 2) a 20 � 8% greater incremental increase in insulin area under the curve (AUC) (P < 0.03), 3) a 22 � 7% greater peak insulin secretion rate (P < 0.02), 4) a 7 � 4% decrease in insulin clearance (P = 0.04), and 5) a 23 � 20% decrease in SI (P = 0.01). (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/23633524/

4."This study did not involve people with diabetes. Importantly, the study was a small study that is not backed by the collective scientific data. Clinical studies in people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and non-diabetic people have shown that SPLENDA� Brand Sweetener (sucralose) does not affect blood glucose levels, insulin, or HbA1c."

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/spl...d197c-86785937

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Brain Disease Outbreak In B.C., Canada

Judee — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 17:08:56 GMT

CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE - CANADA: (BRITISH COLUMBIA)
************************************************** ****
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Date: Sun 16 Jun 2013
Source: The HuffPost, British Columbia [edited]

One case of a rare, degenerative brain disease has been confirmed in
British Columbia [BC]'s Fraser Valley, and a health official says 2
other cases are now suspected. However Paul Van Buynder, chief medical
officer for the Fraser Health authority, said late on Friday [14 Jun
2013] that even if the 2 suspected cases end up being
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease cases, it's not "drastically unusual".

The confirmed case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or CJD, was a
resident in a long term care home who died a year ago, Van Buynder
said. He said the 2 other patients suspected of having
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease are currently in hospital. None of the
patients are related, and they all resided in different towns, Van
Buynder added. The findings stem from a review officials conducted
after they initially believed there were 6 CJD cases in the Fraser
Valley, east of Vancouver, over the past year.

Buynder said it's "highly unlikely" that the remaining 3 cases will be
confirmed as CJD. Cases can only be confirmed after a sample of brain
tissue, taken from the patient post-mortem, is tested at a national
laboratory, he said. Before that happens, doctors make an initial
diagnosis based on MRI images, blood tested for specific proteins, and
an electroencephalogram, a test that measures the brain's activity.
Only 30 to 50 cases are reported annually in Canada, and 5 of those
cases [would be expected] to occur in BC, he said. "I think the public
really need to know that this is probably one or 2 more than I expect,
but it's not drastically unusual," said Van Buynder.

"It's not mad cow disease. It has nothing to do with the food chain.
Neither the public nor anybody in our hospitals should be worried that
they're about to get this nasty disease." Provincial health officer Dr
Perry Kendall said CJD causes the rapid onset of dementia leading to a
coma, usually within a 6 month time frame, because agents known as
prions destroy the brain. One strain has been linked with mad cow
disease, but Van Buynder said more than 90 per cent of the cases are
sporadic, and health officials don't know their cause, and there is no
treatment and no cure. "It's a tragic disease that is rapidly
progressing," he said. "It's a degenerative disease of the brain, and
usually within 6 months, the afflicted pass away. It's a tragic
disease for families, and we just really don't understand it."

[byline: Keven Drews]

--
communicated by:
ProMED-mail rapporteur Kunihiko Iizuka

[According to the Fraser Valley Regional [FVR] District
Administration, the population of the district in 2011 was estimated
to be 277 593
().
Therefore, the occurrence of more than a single case of CJD would be
unusual, and 3 cases exceptional, since the incidence of CJD in the
population is generally accepted to be about one in one million. The
single confirmed case and the 2 suspected cases are clearly not cases
of variant CJD, since there is no evidence that the food chain is
involved. It would be relevant also to investigate whether blood
transfusion is involved in any of these cases. Confirmation of the
diagnosis in the 2 suspected cases is awaited. - Mod.CP

A HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at:
.]