Grim warnings about the possible death toll in Britain from the human form of mad cow disease were issued by scientists and the government yesterday.
Amid speculation that the death rate could rise to one a day, the Agriculture Minister, Mr Nick Brown, said the British government did not have an estimate of the number of people who would eventually be affected.
But when the government was drawing up plans for compensation, those involved "were very mindful of the fact that the numbers to whom this applies could be much, much larger," he told BBC1's Breakfast With Frost.
A leading scientist, Prof Hugh Pennington, said on ITV's Dimbleby: "All we can do is guess. It might be as few as 150: it might be more than 100,000. All we can say for certain is that there will be more cases."
Dr Stephen Dealler, a microbiologist and CJD expert, said that on average people in Britain had eaten 50 meals made from the tissue of an infected animal.
"At the moment, the number of cases of CJD we are seeing is doubling every year," he said. "If they double for a long time, then the numbers are in millions. If they double for just a few years, then the numbers are in thousands. At the moment it is very difficult to know."
The warning came after the death of 14-year-old Zoe Jeffries, who spent two years suffering from vCJD.
It has also been reported that a 74-year-old man died of vCJD, raising fears that there could be many more cases of the disease among the older population.
Mr Brown said on Dimbleby that the government was planning for "a series of possible contingencies" on the disease.
He added: "I think our responsibility to our citizens extends regardless of the numbers involved.
"We have a duty to care for them and a duty to provide support as well through compensation."
The plight of Zoe Jeffries, who died on Saturday at home in Wigan, Greater Manchester, was broadcast on the eve of the report on the BSE fiasco after her mother, Ms Helen Jeffries, let cameras into her home to film her daughter's suffering.
Pictures of Zoe lying motionless in her bed while she was tended by her mother and sisters gave a harrowing glimpse of the devastation the disease has wreaked on its victims and families.
The 74-year-old man is 20 years older than most previously confirmed victims of the human form of mad cow disease.
He died last year, but his case was only reassessed after doctors became worried that his death may have been triggered by vCJD.
Experts believe the case opens up the possibility that cases of vCJD among older people could be misdiagnosed as dementia.