I don't think it's likely to be prions; those diseases take a long time to develop, and there isn't an immune response at all. Kind of like Alzheimers, amyloid, and maybe HIV--the proteins just start misfolding other proteins. This sounds like theyr'e talking about something more acute, and more motor than sensory. Since it's the Mayo that's seeing them, I'd guess they're getting mega-works. Maybe Fanfaire has run into them in the waiting rooms?

Awful. Blowing the meat off the bones the way they do increases the chance of brain and spinal cord meat contaminating the carcasses, and it just shouldn't be done, or way more carefully than what I've read about it.