Doctors suspect that two more patients in Connecticut have been affected by a rare brain disease, bringing the number of people who may have been infected in New Hampshire and Massachusetts to 15.

The possible reason behind the exposure is that doctors have been using the same surgery tools on various patients. The same set of medical instruments was used on the patient who passed away in New Hampshire. The disease is comparable to the more familiar "mad cow" disease, but this not related to the consumption of beef.

The trouble is that such instruments are specialty tools, often leased by from medical companies and used by different hospitals in various states. But despite the intricate cleaning procedures performed in hospitals, the protein that causes the ilness persists, leading to the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).

This rare brain disease scare began after a patient underwent neurosurgery in a Manchester hospital died of causes similar to the sporadic form of CJD. Currently, an autopsy is being conducted on the patient, with its results expected to come out after about a month according to a spokeswoman of the health department of New Hampshire.

There is still no known treatment for the disease. But its symptoms include changes in personality patterns, jerky motor skills, blindness and failing memory. The health officers in the hospitals in New Hampshire and Massachusetts have confirmed that the total of 15 patients who are allegedly exposed to the disease have all been properly notified.