Health Officials' Inquiry Finds No Evidence of Mad Cow Disease at New Jersey Track

ejecting the contentions of a dogged amateur researcher, health officials from New Jersey and the federal government said yesterday that there was no evidence that mad cow disease had killed 17 patrons and employees of a South Jersey racetrack in the late 1980's and early 90's.

Dr. Clifton R. Lacy, the state health commissioner, said an investigation into the deaths had found no cases of the human form of mad cow, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

While at least some of the 17 died from another form of the disease not associated with eating infected beef, the death rate was normal for the age group involved and the state's population of 8 million people, he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, which cooperated with the state investigation, issued a statement yesterday agreeing that "no evidence supports the conclusion that the racetrack-associated deaths were causally linked" with contaminated meat....

Families Skeptical Of Garden State Racetrack Disease Findings

The New Jersey State Health Department announced its conclusion: There is no cluster of people who have died from eating mad cow tainted beef.

And that infuriated the families of local people who used to go to the now closed track..

People who later died of Creutzfeldt Jacob disease (CJD), a brain-wasting illness sometimes linked to mad cow disease.

"I'm just really shocked with this whole thing and I really can't say anything else," said Nicole Senter, whose father died from CJD.

Senter's father died at age 47. He and 15 other confirmed CJD victims had one thing in common. They frequented the racetrack.

"It looks like all of the CJD victims had eaten at the Phoenix restaurant between the years of 1988 and 1992," said Janet Skarbek, a CJD activist. "This is especially significant since only 10 to 15 percent of track attendees ever went to the Phoenix restaurant."

But state health officials say they've found no evidence to suggest that mad cow tainted meat caused their CJD....