Kuru: The Epidemic Brain Disease of Cultural Origins

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Kuru: The Epidemic Brain Disease of Cultural Origins
Introduction
Humankind has been afflicted by several kinds of diseases, yet nothing comes close to kuru in strangeness. Kuru is a fatal and rare brain disease that was once common among the Fore people, an indigenous tribe in the eastern highlands of Papua New Guinea. Kuru belongs to a class of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) that cause sponge-like holes and damage in the brain. It is similar to the "mad cow" disease that affects cattle. The disease can be traced to around 1900 in the northern part of Papua New Guinea, and then gradually spread southwards over a period spanning 40 years. It is believed that it started off from one individual who suffered a sudden change in the body, which caused the development of an infectious pathogen in the brain. In the 1950s and 1960s, Kuru reached epidemic proportions in the Fore population due to their cultural funeral tradition of consuming deceased relatives as a sign of love and respect. Up to 2% of Fore women and children were affected at the epidemic's peak. This practice spreads the disease rapidly, as the infectious agent can be transmitted through consuming infected nervous system tissue. Kuru came into prominence when researchers realized what was causing this neurological epidemic among the Fore people, who had practiced cannibalistic rites for generations. The essay evaluates the symptoms and transmission of Kuru, and medical discoveries from Kuru.
Kuru Symptoms
According to Liberski et.al., kuru is the first human prion disease. Prions are a novel class of pathogens. Kuru causes a variety of debilitating symptoms as the brain is progressively damaged. Kuru usually manifests in three phases; the ambulant which is the early stage, the sedentary which is the middle stage and the terminal phase which is the final one. In the ambulant stage, patients experience difficulty walking and tremors, and loss of coordination as motor control deteriorates. Slurred speech and mood swings also occur as cognitive functions decline. The individual is, however, still in a state where he can at least utilize the limbs. The sedentary stage comes with an increased difficulty in the patient to move independently and therefore needs support. The tremors become severe the eyes start moving in an abnormal manner and the speech also becomes extremely slurred.
Generally, the patient develops an increasingly unsteady coordination of the limbs. The patient additionally starts developing depression as a result of the realization that they can no longer do the things they used to do. Amidst the depression, the patient displays instances of uncontrolled laughter. The patient though, still has some slight control over their reflexes. In the terminal stage, the symptoms initially state become more