Incidence of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the UK

The number of deaths from variant CJD (vCJD) in the UK increased in the las t quarter of 1998, although numbers were lower in subsequent quarters. We a nalysed the numbers of definite and probable (living and dead) vCJD cases s ince 1994 to assess trends in incidence. We estimated that the number of on sets increased by 23% per year for 1994-2000 (p=0.004), and that deaths inc reased by 33% for 1995-2000 (p=0.005). The absolute number of cases in the UK is still low, but such an increase should be a matter of concern.