Since the risk assessment published by ECDC in August 2021 on the risk of vCJD disease transmission via blood and PDMP manufactured from donations obtained in the UK, no new cases of vCJD associated with dietary exposure or transfusion of blood or blood components have been reported in EU/EEA or in the rest of the world.
No cases of variant Creutzfeldt−Jakob disease (vCJD) were identified in the EU/EEA in 2017. The disease remains extremely rare. This is consistent with the current understanding of the underlying epidemiology of vCJD and with the positive impact of risk mitigation measures introduced in the EU in the late 1980s to remove potential infectious animal material from the human food chain.
Two cases of variant Creutzfeldt−Jakob disease (vCJD) were identified in the EU/EEA in 2016: one probable case from Italy and one confirmed case from the UK.