Courtesy GNB/YouTube
New Brunswick’s Health Minister is asking for patience in the investigation into a mystery neurological illness.
Public Health is currently looking at 48 cases in the province, and six deaths believed to be connected.
Dorothy Shephard says she knows this must be agonizing for families looking for a diagnosis, but this process cannot be rushed, “The researchers and the Neurosurgeons and Neurologists are working diligently to outline those questionnaires, which I believe are complete and that’s why families are being contacted. We need them to go through that process to answer those questions to try to delineate that information.”
Shephard says committees have been put into place to assist medical staff and they are also working with national partners to ensure a thorough investigation.
“We have put in place an oversight committee to assist Dr. Alier Marrero with this process and to ensure we are covering all of our basis and all of the information that they give, we want to make sure that we put expert eyes on it to do the very best,” Shephard says.
According to a webpage set up by Public Health, “The investigation into this neurological syndrome of unknown cause is active and ongoing to determine if there are similarities among the reported cases that can identify potential causes for this syndrome, and to help identify possible strategies for prevention. The investigation team is exploring all potential causes including food, environmental and animal exposures.”
Symptoms include, memory problems, muscle spasms, balance issues, difficulty walking or falls, blurred vision or visual hallucinations and behaviour changes.
