April 19, 2002–Washington, DC–Health officials are jointly investigating a new variant of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (vCJD) in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Florida Department of Health said the victim, a 22-year old British woman, probably contracted the disease overseas, according to Reuters.

vCJD occurs when a person eats beef contaminated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE.) To date, there haven’t been any cases of vCJD, commonly referred to as mad cow disease, identified in the United States. However, if the case in Florida is confirmed it would mark the first instance of vCJD in a US resident, according to the CDC.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture told Reuters it felt "very confident that the United States does not have mad cow disease."

"The clinical diagnosis was made at a hospital in the U.K and (the woman) has since returned to the U.S. Preliminary analysis of information provided by the U.K. indicates that the patient’s clinical condition and history are consistent with vCJD acquired in the U.K. However, the only way to confirm a diagnosis of vCJD is through study of brain tissue obtained by a brain biopsy or at autopsy," noted a spokesperson for the CDC.