A symposium on control of spread of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) was held jointly with the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Korean Neurological Society (Sat. 28 January).

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) jointly held a symposium on measures to control spread of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)

– Discuss information sharing and cooperation plans to block transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and early diagnosis –

□ The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Chairman Ji Young-mi) held a meeting on January 28 (Sat) with the Korean Neurological Society (Chairman Kim Jae-moon) for more systematic prevention and management of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). A joint symposium on the subject was held.

○ CJD* is a Class 3 statutory infectious disease under the 「Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act」. Its incubation period is several years to several decades, but cognitive dysfunction and neurological symptoms (visual impairment, gait disturbance, dystonia, Dyskinesia, etc.) is a rapidly progressing infectious disease with high severity.

* Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a type of TSE that occurs in humans and is classified into Sporadic CJD, Genetic CJD, and Iatrogenic CJD depending on the route of infection.

○ ‘Variant CJD (vCJD)’, also called ‘human mad cow disease’, has a similar name to CJD, but has different clinical, epidemiological and pathological findings and is classified as a separate disease. So far, domestic mad cow disease and vCJD patients There are no cases of occurrence <붙임 2 참고>

□ The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is establishing and operating a surveillance system for the prevention and management of CJD, which is highly severe, and thoroughly monitoring and analyzing the cause of its occurrence.

○ A total of 67 cases occurred in Korea in 2021, and the trend has been gradually increasing* over the past five years.

* 38 in ’17 → 54 in ’18 → 53 in ’19 → 64 in ’20 → 67 in ’21

○ Analyzing the number of occurrences by type as of 2021,

– About 85% (57 cases) of sporadic CJD (Sporatic CJD, sCJD) occurred without any particular cause, and regarding 15% (10 cases) had genetic CJD (Genetic CJD, gCJD) that was spread and occurred through heredity.

– In addition to this, ▲iatrogenic CJD (iCJD)*, which is spread through medical practices such as infected tissue/corneal transplantation, is rare, but there has been no occurrence in Korea since 2012.

* Transplantation of imported German-made dura mater (Lyodura) infected with CJD: 1 case in 2010, 1 case in 2011

○ In addition, in case of being diagnosed as a CJD patient, medical expenses are supported according to the implementation standards of 「Rare disease patient medical expense support project」*.

* In the case of a patient with rare disease (CJD) who is registered for special calculation, 10% of the cost of nursing care, ventilator rental, and medical care benefit is supported.

□ The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Korean Society of Neuroscience held a symposium in which experts in neurology, genetics, and pathology participated widely for thorough preventive management through early diagnosis and blocking of radio waves.

○ This symposium was held face-to-face and non-face-to-face (online) at the same time, and real-time Q&A was also conducted online with participants such as neurologists who had pre-registered.

○ Major presentations include ▲Case of CJD in Korea (Yang Soonchun, Soonchunhyang University), ▲Status of hereditary CJD analysis in and outside Korea (Seongsoo Ahn, Gachon University), ▲CJD autopsy and diagnosis (Kyungchan Choi, Hallym University), and ▲CJD surveillance system (Insook Shin, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

– Through this, in-depth discussions were held on the necessity of preventive management at medical institutions to block secondary transmission of CJD, the need for autopsies on CJD patients, the role of autopsy centers, and measures to strengthen the CJD surveillance system.

□ Ji Young-mi, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, requested, “As we are preparing to strengthen surveillance and prevention of CJD, we ask for much cooperation from the medical community for early settlement.”

□ Kim Jae-moon, Chairman of the Korean Society of Neuroscience, said, “The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been making efforts to guide, monitor, and support CJD. do,” he said.

<붙임> 1. Overview of the 2023 Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) Symposium

2. Overview of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)

3. Current status of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in Korea and abroad