Man with Mad Cow Disease may be first in US linked to eating meat.

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http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2003/9/emw80402.php

 

Man with Mad Cow Disease may be first in US linked to eating meat.

Peter Putnam is dying of vCJD - Mad Cow Disease, and doctors say his case fits

the profile of those in the UK who contracted the disease by eating bad meat. If

that is the case, there is a good chance it came from eating beef, as Mr Putnam

(before he became ill) told his brother last summer he tried venison for the

first time. This would not have been enough time for the disease to manifest

itself from an animal infected with Chronic Wasting Disease, narrowing the

options for where he would have came into contact with the disease.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

MAD COW DISEASE IN THE NORTHWEST MAY BE THE FIRST US CASE LINKED TO THE

INGESTION OF MEAT

 

Spokane, WA (PRWEB) - September, 17, 2003 -- If he survives, Peter Michael

Putnam will turn 35 on the 26th of this month. Even if he lives to see his

birthday, he probably won't understand what's going on or even who he is.

 

Putnam was diagnosed with the human version of Mad Cow Disease (BSE), Variant

Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (vCJD) in February 2003. Doctors suggest Putnam's case

may be the first case in the United States to fit a similar profile to cases in

Britain where the patient was infected by the consumption of meat infected by

either Mad Cow Disease or Chronic Wasting Disease.

 

The disease attacks and destroys the brain of the infected person by the

creation of sponge-like holes in the brain matter. The patient experiences

severe dementia, seizures, loss of communication and motor skills among other

symptoms. The disease is fatal, and has no treatment or cure.

 

The only way to confirm a CJD diagnosis of the disease is by a brain biopsy,

which Putnam underwent in February of this year. The only way to confirm for

sure which form of the disease Putnam has will be after his death, when his

brain will be removed for testing.

 

At this time, there are five accepted forms of CJD: Sporadic CJD (sCJD),

Familial CJD (FFI), Transmissible or variant (vCJD), New Variant (nvCJD) found

in younger people in England and Europe, and Iatrogenic CJD.

 

vCJD is caused by exposure/ingestion of tissue infected with Mad Cow Disease or

Chronic Wasting Disease. No one knows how long this disease will hibernate in

the body before activating itself or even how it is activated.

 

In only 3 months, Putnam went from giving a keynote address at a business

reception in Anchorage, to a man that no longer had much ability to speak or

recall the people he loved.

 

" Before we knew what he had, I made him French toast for dinner, " said his

Mother Jemie Turnley. " He said 'My mom used to make us dinners like this.' "

 

Originally from Spokane, WA, Putnam graduated from Washington State University

in 1990.

 

Since that time, he lived and worked in Reno, NV, Palm Springs, CA, and Graham

and Seattle, WA. He made many business trips around the nation. His only

experiences out of the US were trips to Canada, Mexico and ST. Thomas.

 

Most recently, Putnam sold commercial insurance in Anchorage, AK. He moved to

Anchorage early in 2002. While there he quickly became respected in the

community, ran ten miles every other day, and took part in many outdoor

activities.

 

His symptoms were first reported to his mother, Jemie Turnley, during a phone

call in November 2002.

 

" We were talking, and he asked me 'Mom, do you ever just forget things?' " said

his mother. " He was working hard, under a lot of stress, and we thought he was

even a little depressed by all the darkness in Alaska. "

 

In December his memory worsened. He was still able to function at work, but was

putting in extra hours. He was also able to function socially. But he would get

lost on roads he had previously driven, started to lose track of time and became

easily disoriented.

 

He was supposed to fly home to North Idaho for Christmas. He never made it.

Instead he spent 24 hours lost at the Anchorage Airport. Unable to catch his

flight or find his vehicle, he wandered the airport until the police took him to

the bed and breakfast where he was living.

 

Two weeks later, his emplyer put him on a plane home. He wanted Putnam to find

out what was wrong, promising to hold his job until he returned.

 

His father, John Turnley, picked him up at the airport in Seattle and drove him

home. At that point, Putnam was suffering from severe dementia and felt it was

just stress: that there was nothing wrong with him.

 

The first thing his parents did was to take Putnam, begrudgingly, to a hospital

in Spokane. There he underwent a cat scan along with other tests. His parents

were told there was nothing physically wrong with him, and that he probably

needed counseling.

 

After a week, he was taken to his father's doctor who gave Putnam a series of

tests. Though he wasn't able to diagnose Putnam, he did see the possibility of

something grave and ordered a spinal tap along with other tests.

 

The spinal tap came back negative. At the end of January they took him to the

emergency room at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane and told them 'We need to

find out what's wrong with Peter.'

 

As his sister, Jennifer Turnley, drove him to the hospital a train whistle went

off. Putnam was startled and asked his sister what she thought had made that

noise.

 

The neurologist on staff that afternoon was Dr John Wurst. He listened to the

family, checked Putnam into the hospital, and began looking for answers. Through

a series of tests over ten days a mass was found on Putnam's brain. After

discussing the findings with a national network of doctors, Wurst narrowed the

prognosis down to three possibilities: cancer, a form of infection, and least

likely, CJD.

 

A brain biopsy was performed. During the biopsy, the surgeon reported to the

family that there was definitely something wrong because the brain fluid was

discolored. Because of the risk of the highly contagious CJD, the wall in the

operating room had to be covered and all surgical equipment destroyed following

surgery. The samples of Putnam's brain were sent to the University of Washington

for testing.

 

On February 14, Putnam's family received the news they least expected. It was

vCJD. There was nothing that could be done.

 

Chris Turnley, Putnam's younger brother, immediately notified the Alaska

Department of Health and Center for the Disease Control of the situation.

 

" They weren't concerned, " said Turnley. " They told me because of the short

length of time he lived there that he couldn't have gotten it while living

there. "

 

His parents were informed all they could do at this point was to love him. They

made a decision that they would care for their son in the North Idaho cabin he

had spent many of his youthful summers at, and always looked forward to

returning to. His mother gave over the day-to-day operations of their business

to one an employee. His father, a sheet-metal worker in a market where most of

the work is out of town, informed his employer that he could only take in-town

jobs.

 

They took Putnam to a doctor who offered to treat him using non-conventional

methods, but the best that could be expected would be to keep him status quo.

The family decided that's not what Putnam would have wanted.

 

" The doctor told me that he understood our decision, " said Putnam's mother. " He

also told me that he felt this disease was more prevalent than we thought, and

that in a few years it would be widespread. "

 

" Afterwards he became delusional. Then one by one, all of the traits, quirks and

sayings that made my brother a man loved by hundreds of people went away, " said

Chris Turnley. " The only trait that remains is the sporadic smile that he gives

out to visitors. We are left to guess what he is thinking and feeling as he lies

in my parent's house, unable to walk, control his bodily functions or speak. He

is prone to seizures and panic attacks. Family, hospice and friends care him for

around the clock. Had we only known he would lose these things, I'm sure each

one of us has hundreds of questions we would have asked. Peter always prided

himself on his memory, his ability to talk to anyone and the love he had for his

family. Now we are left with the lessons of a life cut short and a hole in our

hearts. "

 

Since Putnam's diagnosis, the family has been approached by many other people

who have been touched by disease, and have a strong feeling that the disease

isn't as rare as they were lead to believe. Instead, the family believes it is a

disease no one wants to talk about.

 

 

Experts willing to work with media to get facts out about the occurrence of

vCJD:

- Pierluigi Gambetti, M.D. Case Western - 216-368-0819 - Head of the Prion

Institute at Case Western

-Dr.Stanley Prusiner - University of California San Francisco (415) 476-4482 -

Won the 1997 Nobel Prize for work with Prions, CJD and BSE

-John Wurst - Sacred Heart Medical Center - 509-456-7200 Peter's Neurologist in

Spokane, WA

-Dr. Stephen Dealler (UK) - Doctor who is performing human testing in UK

 

Contact:

 

Chris Turnley - Brother

206.790-1315

 

 

Parents may be contacted through Turnley or Putnam

 

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