The first person in the State to be diagnosed with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, a human form of BSE in cattle, has died.
Ms Kay Turner (31) died at her home in Portlaoise on Tuesday evening, after being discharged from a hospice in the town at the weekend. Her husband, Michael, and two children, James (4) and Enya (2), were with her.
Ms Turner, originally from Portarlington, Co Offaly, was diagnosed with the disease at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, in May.
She was the patient at the centre of a case in June when St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin contacted 49 patients, fearing they may have been at risk of cross contamination. The 49 patients had undergone treatment with the same gastroscope as had been used on Ms Turner for a gastroscopic biopsy before vCJD was diagnosed.
There is no test for the disease during its incubation period of up to 10 years, though the hospital insisted the risk of infection was "infinitesimal".
Ms Turner's mother-in-law, Ms Ursula Turner, yesterday said her son was "devastated" and "very angry" at the doctors and the hospitals. Since last November he had been bringing his wife to them saying she was unwell, and they were saying there was nothing wrong with her, that she was depressed.
"If they had originally sent her to Beaumont they could have had their last few months together doing something special." It is thought Ms Turner contracted the disease some years ago while working with her husband in England. They were both chefs.
Ms Turner began to feel ill last November, when she complained of a tingling sensation in her legs, her mother-in-law said.
"Then she started to get depressed and was losing her balance and later she suffered from memory loss. Michael took her to the doctors who said there was nothing wrong. They gave her tablets for vertigo and depression. But Michael knew she was really ill."
She said Ms Turner was later due to go into hospital for tests but her admission was cancelled while she was given further treatment for depression.
"I told him to leave it to me, because I do cleaning for doctors and I got her an appointment with a young woman doctor.
"As soon as she saw Kay she said to get her straight into hospital. That was at the beginning of May." She said various tests were run, and although Ms Turner was not in bad pain she had some discomfort in her legs.
"She was hallucinating a bit and was easily aggravated. Then they sent her to Beaumont, where a neurosurgeon diagnosed the vCJD at the end of May." Ms Turner's deterioration was "very fast".
Ms Turner said Kay was unable to talk for the last few months. Mr Turner lost his job as a chef a few months ago because he had to spend every day with his wife, his mother said. "He is worried about the kids now, because there are no tests for this, and we just have to wait and see if he has it or if they have it."
