New Brunswick premier calls on Canadian government to investigate mysterious brain illness

The newly elected premier of New Brunswick has called on Canada’s federal government to aid in a “full, open scientific investigation” into the mysterious brain illness that has plagued the province for years, in a move that those suffering from the condition hope could finally bring answers.

“We need to conduct a thorough investigation into what is making people sick,” the premier, Susan Holt, told the National Post.

Health officials first warned in 2012 that more than 40 residents of the province were suffering from a possible unknown neurological syndrome, with symptoms similar to those of the degenerative brain disorder Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. A year later, however, an independent oversight committee created by the province determined that the group of patients had most likely been misdiagnosed and were suffering from known illnesses such as cancer and dementia. A final report from the committee, which concluded there was no “cluster” of people suffering from an unknown brain syndrome, signalled the end of the province’s investigation.

But earlier that year, the Guardian reported that a top federal scientist worried there was “something real going on” in New Brunswick. Another said the investigation “was shut down” and that caseloads were higher than officially acknowledged. “I don’t think it is helpful to suggest or point to who or why – suffice to say that we were prepared to marshal both financial and human scientific resources to tackle the mystery, but they were declined,” the scientist wrote.

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