Kuru (disease)

Kuru be a rare, incurable, den fatal neurodegenerative disorder wey na formerly be common among de Fore people of Papua New Guinea. E be a prion disease wich dey lead to tremors den loss of coordination from neurodegeneration. De term kúru dey mean "trembling" wey e dey cam from de Fore word kuria anaa guria ("to shake"). E sanso be known as "laughing sickness" secof abnormal bursts of laughter wich dey occur.

Na dem spread am among de Fore people via funerary cannibalism. Na dem traditionally cook den chop deceased family members, wich na dem think e dey help free de spirit of de dead. Na women den kiddies children usually eat de brain, wer na infectious prions be most concentrated, wey therefore dem be more commonly affected.

Na de outbreak likely start wen na a villager develop sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease wey e die. Wen na villagers chop de brain, dem contract de disease wey then dem spread am to oda villagers wey chop dema infected brains.

While na de Fore people stop dey chop human meat insyd de early 1960s, wen na dem first speculate dis as de cause, de disease linger secof kuru ein long incubation period of anywer from 10 to over 50 years. Na cases finally decline after half a century, from 200 deaths per year insyd 1957 to no deaths from at least 2010 onward, plus de last known death insyd 2005 anaa 2009.

 References 

 External links 

 Sam Kean. The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons, "Chapter 6: The Laughing Disease", 2014. (Detailed scientific and political history.)

Category:Cannibalism insyd Oceania
Category:Foodborne illnesses
Category:Health insyd Papua New Guinea
Category:Prions
Category:Rare infectious diseases
Category:Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies
Category:Translated from MDWiki