. Charlene, first Mad Cow Disease victim.
Roland Brammer, Contributor
NEW YORK:
A 23-YEAR-old Jamaican, living in South Florida, is the first person in the United States to have contracted the deadly Mad Cow Disease.
Charlene (surname withheld at the request of her parents), a graduate of the University of Miami, was living in the United Kingdom up to age 12, after which she moved to the USA, where she is being cared for by family and friends.
Charlene who once weighed 108 lb. has lost more than 40 lb. since returning from England and is unable to walk, talk, eat, communicate or perform any body functions. She is fed through a tube to the stomach.
"Sometimes I feel like I cannot cope," says Alison, Charlene's mom. "I wish that God would just take my life and give it to her."
Alison says she finds it hard to comprehend what is happening to her daughter and finds it difficult to accept when people say it is the will of God.
"Maybe in time I will understand, but right now I just cannot accept why God has chosen my daughter," she told The Gleaner.
Charlene graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, while working in the circulation department of the Miami Herald newspaper.
"She was always a straight 'A' student, exceptionally bright and always ahead," said her father, Patrick, an immigrant from Golden Grove, St. Thomas.
Last May she graduated and up to that point had led a normal life. However, within three months, she started to be forgetful and anxious. Her family thought it was from the combined pressures of finishing school and work.
Charlene started to experience uncontrollable shaking of her hands, difficulty walking and had no appetite. The doctors' diagnosed depression and anxiety.
Weeks later, she was in an accident, and although not injured, she started to have memory lapses. Things got progressively worse and mom, Alison, was summoned from the UK to come to see her daughter.
Alison, who is separated from Charlene's father, Patrick, flew to the US and took her daughter to England, where she was seen by specialists. It was later confirmed that she had the Mad Cow Disease.
Mad Cow Disease, first diagnosed in the UK in 1986, is one of several fatal brain diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, or TSEs. These infectious diseases shoot the brain full of holes, making it look like a sponge.The TSEs were once considered unlikely to infect other species, but some seem to move rather easily among animals. Most glaringly, many scientists believe people can get vCJD (variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease) from eating mad cows. The awkward name reflects the similarity to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), a deadly brain illness, that strikes about one person per million per year, due to genetic or unknown causes.
The disease usually kills cows and persons who consume the meat.
Patrick, an audio-visual engineer, says that he is angry with the British Government, and blames them for the dramatic events in his daughter's life.
"I remember many years ago, in the 80s, that the Minister of Agriculture was on the television in England feeding his daughter with an hamburger and telling Britons that 'beef is safe,' while he knew that it was bad for us," he said bitterly. He said that the government at the time in England did little public education regarding Mad Cow Disease.
The family was in complete shock of the results from Charlene's tests. There was nothing the doctors could do for them. The disease was considered fatal and they went to the US
Symptoms include mood swings, numbness and uncontrolled body movements. Eventually the mind is destroyed, somewhat like Alzheimer's, another brain-wrecking disease. The newer variety of the disease usually kills in about 18 months after symptoms appear, compared to four to six months for regular CJD. There is no treatment and both diseases are uniformly fatal. Although neither Mad Cow nor vCJD has been seen in the United States, vigilance and concern are both mounting.
Patrick outlined that there are many British people living in Florida who were in England during the 70s and the 80s.
