FREDERICTON – New Brunswick’s chief medical officer says the government will begin analyzing data into a mystery brain disease that has affected hundreds of people in the last several years.
Dr. Yves Léger told reporters today that his office will review 222 files with the Public Health Agency of Canada into what the province calls an “undiagnosed neurological illness.”
In 2021, the provincial government under the Progressive Conservatives started investigating 48 patients with neurological symptoms of unknown origin, and since then more than 400 people have reported symptoms such as intense pain and muscle spasms.
The government said in 2022 that it found no evidence of a common illness, but the Liberals promised during last year’s election campaign to reopen the investigation.
The cases were brought to the attention of authorities by a single neurologist — Dr. Alier Marrero — who had suggested the illness was caused by environmental factors such as elevated levels of pesticides.
Léger says the analysis of the patient files is expected to be completed by the summer, after which the government will publish its findings.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2025.
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