Two people die from vCJD in Spain

Two people have died in Spain after contracting the human form of "mad cow disease", variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), Spanish media has said.

The two died in the central region of Castilla-Leon, one three months ago and the other last week, regional health sources were quoted by news agency AFP.

The disease was first found in humans in 1995 and is thought to be transmitted in infected meat and bone.

One of the dead was 41 and the other was 26, Spanish national radio said.

The health department said these were not the first vCJD deaths in Spain but did not give details, Reuters news agency reported.

The only previous case of a death in the country from vCJD was in Madrid, in 2005, Spanish radio reported.