Has Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD, or BSE) entered the Canadian food supply? Authorities insist the man must have contracted the disease in Britain, where he lived and worked in the ’90’s. The cattle industry fears that a North American case will impact beef sales as has been the European and Japanese case after BSE scares. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a spongiform encephalopathy (or prion disease) similar to BSE that affects ungulants, has been known in Canadian elk and deer populations since 1996, and three deer near where the victim lived in Saskatchewan have recently died of CWD, but he apparently did not eat venison or elk. Although CJD was suspected in the man’s case since April, the definitive CJD diagnosis was not made until a brain biopsy after he died, and now fears have arisen of “possible transmission to 71 other patients at a Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, hospital who came into contact with medical equipment previously used on the vCJD victim.” Reuters AlertNet Shares of McDonald’s and Wendy’s stock fell sharply on the news; Taco Bell and Outback Steakhouse as well…. Reuters