By Bang

A man died from an extremely rare disease after eating squirrel brains.

The 61-year-old man was hospitalised in New York three years ago after experiencing a decline in his thinking abilities, while also losing the ability to walk unaided.

As explained by Live Science, a new report has revealed an MRI of the man's head revealed his brain scan looked similar to people suffering with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).

While only a few hundred cases of the fatal brain condition have ever been reported, Dr. Tara Chen - a medical resident at Rochester Regional Health and lead author of the - has revealed the man ate squirrel brains and it could have been behind his increased risk.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.