Kuru Disease
What is Kuru?
Kuru is an extremely rare disease found from New Guinea among the Fore people where the practice of cannibalism was common. It was discovered from the 1950s to 1960s. These native individuals ate the brains of dead people as part of a funeral ritual. Though culture is an important aspect of many people, disease is a very concerning factor.
What causes Kuru?
The disease Kuru is present because of an infectious protein called prion which causes havoc in the human brain tissue, thus affecting their entire nervous systems. Thus, this disease falls in the category of TSEs, which is prion diseases. The protein prion is able to change their shape as well as other proteins, in other words causing a chain of reactions that would cause important proteins that control the nervous system to denature or have an alternate purpose. Protein molecules also clump together on the brain tissue.
What are the symptoms?
-Headaches
-Swallowing difficulty
-Tremors and Muscle Jerks
-Arm and Leg pain
-Mood changes
-Some people became unable to stand and died in a state of a coma after 12 months of symptoms
What are the treatments?
There is no current treatment for Kuru, however the only advice professionals give to prevent Kuru is to simply stop cannibalism.