Texas Man Is Fourth In U.S. To Die From Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

AUSTIN, Texas, June 5 (Reuters) - A Texas man has died of the fatal brain illness variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, the fourth person to die of the disease in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

CJD is a rare, degenerative, fatal brain disorder in humans, believed to be caused by consumption of products from cows with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or "mad cow" disease.

"The history of this fourth patient, including extensive travel to Europe and the Middle East, supports the likelihood that infection occurred outside the United States," the CDC said in a statement this week.

In each of the three previous cases, infection likely occurred outside the United States, it said. The Texas patient was not identified. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz, editing by G Crosse)