Scientist working on mystery N.B. brain condition claimed he was 'cut off' for 'political' reasons

A leading federal scientist claimed he wasn't allowed to keep investigating a mystery neurological illness that made dozens of people sick in New Brunswick, according to an email obtained by CBC News.

Dr. Michael Coulthart, who is the head of the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance System, wrote last October that he had been «essentially cut off» from working on the file at the public health level for reasons he could «only discern to be political.» He said he was worried there are more than 200 people experiencing unexplained neurological decline.

«All I will say is that my scientific opinion is that there is something real going on in [New Brunswick] that absolutely cannot be explained by the bias or personal agenda of an individual neurologist,» microbiologist Coulthart wrote last October. «A few cases might be best explained by the latter, but there are just too many [now over 200].»

Coulthart did not respond to requests for comment, but forwarded an email inquiry to the Public Health Agency of Canada's (PHAC) media relations team.

The agency declined an interview, but sent a statement saying Coulthart was initially called to help investigate the string of illnesses because he specializes in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) — an exceedingly rare and deadly brain condition caused by brain proteins «misfolding» into an abnormal form.

«Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease is Dr. Coulthart's area of expertise and work at the agency so, once prion disease was ruled out, he was no longer involved in this issue,» read the email from PHAC.

The email is the latest criticism of what patients and families have described as an unclear, inadequate response to a public health issue.

Despite the province having closed its investigation more than