Sydney man diagnosed with rare neurological condition linked to 'mad cow' disease

A Sydney man has been diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, an extremely rare neurological condition commonly linked to Mad Cow disease.

The patient is in isolation at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

The man is reported to be former Sydney Swans chief financial officer Frank Burton, 63.

Friends said Mr Burton’s condition rapidly deteriorated after he fell on a footpath around five weeks ago.

He is now unable to move or speak.

The rare degenerative condition affects around one in a million people and is characterised by rapidly progressive dementia.

The most common form of CJD occurs in people with no known risk factors for the illness.

The sporadic strain affecting Mr Burton is not the much-publicised form contracted by eating contaminated beef often dubbed Mad Cow.

The disease can lie dormant for years and is caused by mutations in the patient’s brain.

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