Kuru

Kuru

In this research paper the facts surrounding Kuru will be known. Through this journey many topics surrounding Kuru will be touched on. This paper will discuss the discovery and development of Kuru; effects of the disease, as well as, transmission. Other subjects covered are symptoms, life expectancy, treatment options, and the future of this debilitating disease.

History

Kuru is a prion disease. Prions are proteins with no detectable nucleic acids. Another characteristic is latency, meaning this malady can lie dormant for many years and in some cases even decades. (O’Neil, 2010, p.1) The name was given by the indigenous people of Papua New Guinea, translated in Fore, Kuru simply means shaking, and given the symptoms the name fits well. Also referenced as the laughing disease, many neurological and physiological changes are seen through Kuru. (Paradowski, 2015, p1)

During the 1950’s and 1960’s Kuru was starting to become known to the world. The way this came about was due to the alarming number of deaths occurring in a relatively small community of people in Papua New Guinea. The population tallied right around eight thousand. During a ten year period the village saw a rapid number of deaths in the tribe. Nearly thirteen percent of the populace had been wiped out by this disease. Doctors and scientists wanted to know why this was occurring and could anything be done to stop or at the very least treat this disease. (Paradowski, 2015, p1)

Kuru is a debilitating neurological affliction that attacks the brain and is fatal to the carrier. Originally thought to be caused by a virus, Kuru is caused by an infectious protein that targets and recruits healthy protein cells. This condition is similar to Creutzfeld-Jacob disease which is more commonly known as “mad cow disease” and also closely related to Scrapies, a neurological disease that affects sheep and goats. (www.ninds.nih.gov) Symptoms of Kuru start with a neurological decline. The...