TIME EUROPE
December 11, 2000, Vol. 156 No. 24
A Search for Connections
The tragedy of Queniborough
By HELEN GIBSON
Queniborough, in central Leicestershire, is a quintessential old English village with thatch-roofed cottages and elegant 18th century houses lining the main street. But the tranquillity is deceptive. In July, health authorities officially confirmed that Queniborough is the site of a "cluster" of cases of CJD. Five of the 81 deaths in Britain from the fatal brain disease have occurred among residents who lived within a 5-km radius of each other in the 1980s. Three men and two women, aged between 18 and 35, died over the last two years. "Of course we are all worried," says Ian Clarke, who works in his family's butcher shop. "But we are still waiting to hear some hard facts."
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Steve Connors for TIME
Queniborough resident Arthur Beyless, whose daughter Pamela died of CJD
| The authorities are working hard to provide them, using the tragedy of the Queniborough cluster to find common features among the victims. Interviews with their families, two sets of questionnaires and meetings between health authorities and residents have so far turned up only one common link. "All the victims ate beef between 1980 and 1991 — but they didn't buy it from the same butcher," says Dr. Philip Monk of the Leicestershire Health Authority. There was no occupational link — victims included a van driver, a farm worker and a bank employee — and baby food, school meals, contaminated vaccines or drinking water were all ruled out as unlikely links or causes. Says Arthur Beyless, 54, who with his wife nursed his daughter for 26 months before she died: "Pamela lived away from home for years — she could have eaten infected beef anywhere."
Though worried, many villagers believe the cluster is a coincidence and seem to blame neither their current butcher nor his predecessor. "Do I buy beef? I have never wavered," said Dorothy Stretton as she purchased two steaks last week. In fact, local people seem more distressed — at least on the surface — over the way the media have besieged the village since July. They complained of some German reporters hanging around the school offering candy in exchange for interviews. A British newspaper headline, "Village of the Damned," also annoyed villagers even though the description was attributed to residents.
The victims' families, except for Beyless who feels it is best to air the issue, generally avoid talking to outsiders. The deaths have added sadness to the quiet life of Queniborough, where most prefer to keep their feelings private.
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