National Prion Diseases Reference Center
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The National Prion Diseases Reference Center (Nationales Referenzzentrum für
Prionenerkrankungen, NRPE) registers all human prion diseases in collaboration
with the Swiss Societies for Psychiatry, Neurology and Neuropathology, and in
particular the Federal Department of Health (Bundesamt für Gesundheit, BAG).
Between 1996 and June 28, 2012, 227 cases of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob
disease (vCJD) were found in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Ireland, the
Netherlands, USA, Italy, Portugal, Canada, Japan, Taiwan and Saudi-Arabia.
Different experimental and epidemiological studies have confirmed the causal
connection between BSE and vCJD. As the Swiss population was significantly
exposed to BSE, cases of vCJD may occur here.
NRPE offers diagnostic support for cases in which a TSE is suspected. Please
consult the respective web
page, at present in German and French only, as well as the link to our research
projects.