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= KURU  = = What is Kuru? = === Kuru is both a rare and fatal disease. It grew to be an epidemic around the 1950s in the Papua New Guinea area. According to the CDC (2010), Kuru is a neurological disorder that is a type of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. It is caused by infectious proteins also known as prions. ===

[|Kuru infected brain]

[|Normal brain] == = History: = === According to Beasley A. (2009) in her article Frontier Journeys: Fore experience on the Kuru Partols, Kuru is spread by the cannibalistic funeral practices of the Fore. Family members were cooked and eaten as a part of ritualistic practices following their death. The female relatives usually consumed the brain which turns out is the most infections organ. Beasley also states, one of the older women of the community would wrap their hand in ferns and remove the brain from the body of the deceased, it would then be cooked and eaten. In the late 1950's cannibalism was prohibited which eventually lead to the decline in reported cases of Kuru. However, the disease has still been noted in the present century due to the long incubation period which could exceed 50 years. There were only 2 Kuru related deaths form 2003-2008 which indicates and end of the epidemic is approaching. ===



[|Map]

= Transmission of Kuru: = === According to John Collinge et al (2006) in his article, //Kuru in the 21st century-an acquired human prion disease with very long incubation periods,// Kuru was the result of ritualistic cannibalism. The Fore people in New Guinea used this ritual of consumption to show respect and mourn their deceased relatives. It is believed to have been transmitted when an infected body, more specifically the brain, was ritualistically consumed by relatives following death. Collinge's article (2006) also says that Kuru most commonly affected women and children of both sexes, less than 2% affected were men. His explanation of the reasoning behind this goes back to the ritual itself. In most cases men participated much less in the consumption and did not eat the brain. This was left for the women and children. Once a boy reached the age of 6-8 they participated much like the men, which probably resulted in a very low number of men that develop Kuru. ===

= Sy﻿mptoms: = === The incubation of Kuru can be somewhat unclear, but it is believed that it likely can take anywhere from 34-41 years and may be longer in men. According to Robert Klitzman (1998) in his book //The trembling mountain : a personal account of kuru, cannibals, and mad cow disease,// The disease mainly affects the cerebellum, which is responsible for coordination. The symptoms can be divided into 3 stages. They are as follow: ===
 * 1) === Ambulant stage which includes unsteadiness in standing, voice, hands and eyes; deterioration of speech; tremor; in-coordination that starts in the lower extremities and moves upward and slurred speech. ===
 * 2) === Sedentary Stage which includes the inability to walk without assistance, more severe tremors and lack of coordination, shock-like muscle jerks, emotional instability, outburst of laughter, depression, and a slower mental state. ===
 * 3) === Terminal Stage which includes the inability to sit without support, even more severe tremor, in-coordination and slurred speech, urinary and fecal control loss, and difficulty swallowing. ===

=== Klitzman (1998) goes on to say that the term "Kuru" is taken from the Fore word "kuria" meaning to shake/shiver. Also it was commonly known as the "laughing disease" among the Fore people because of the uncontrollable burst of laughter affected people often displayed. === === Unlike most other TSE's dimentia is either minimal or absent in patients with Kuru, however mood changes are often present. The disease eventually causes the person to go into a coma and die, typically about 6-12 months after the initial onset of symptoms. ===

media type="youtube" key="5aDoAJG6Za0" height="390" width="640" align="center"

[|Kuru Video]

Treatment and Prevention:
=== According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, there is no known treatment or cure for Kuru. The only way of attempting to control the spread of Kuru is to discourage the practice of cannibalism. There are currently no known cures for Kuru or any of the other TSE diseases. Kuru ultimately leads to death. ===