Progressive disease of the central nervous system characterized by tremors and increasing lack of coordination and leading to paralysis and death, usually within a year after the onset of symptoms. The disease, known only among the Fore people of New Guinea, is thought to be caused by a prion, an abnormal form of a normal protein known as a cellular prion protein, and to have been transmitted through cannibalistic practices in which the diseased brain tissue of the dead was eaten or wiped on the body; with the abandonment of cannibalism the disease has now virtually disappeared.
A disease that affects only members of the Fore tribe of New Guinea. It involves a progressive degeneration of the nerve cells of the central nervous system, particularly in the cerebellar region of the brain, which controls movement. Muscular control becomes defective and shiverlike tremors occur in the trunk, limbs, and head. Kuru affects mainly women and children and usually proves fatal within 9-12 months. It is thought to be caused by a virus and transmitted by cannibalism.
A slowly progressive, fatal disease due to spongiform degeneration in the central nervous system, and particularly the cerebellum. It is confined to the Fore people in the Eastern Highlands of New Guinea, and causes increasingly severe muscular trembling. Kuru is believed to be due to an infection with a prion, similar to that causing creutzfeldt-jakob disease (CJD), acquired from the cannibalistic rite of eating, out of respect, the organs and particularly the brains of deceased relatives. Since the rite was abandoned, the disease has largely disappeared.
A rapidly progressive neurological disease that is invariably fatal. The disease affects mostly adult women and children of both sexes belonging to the Fore tribe of New Guinea. This disease is transmitted by consuming tissues that harbor infectious proteins (called “prions”) from an individual who has died (ritual cannibalism) and rubbing infected tissues over the bodies of the women and children kin to the victim. With the decline of this practice, the incidence of kuru has decreased.
Kuru is a rare and deadly brain infection found among certain residents of New Guinea. It’s caused by a prion, a type of “slow” virus, and is transmitted through cannibalistic practices. Symptoms include increasing movement control issues and dementia.
Research on scrapie in sheep resulted in the discovery of prions, which are also involved in conditions like Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and BSE.