Introduction and BiologyKuru is a progressive and fatal brain disease discovered in the 1950s. This disease was discovered by the American doctor Carleton Gajdusek among the population of the eastern highlands of New Guinea. Kuru is a disease caused by the consumption of contaminated brain tissue. Kuru is part of a group of rare brain diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). TSEs lead to the formation of tiny holes in the brain tissue giving it a spongy appearance. History Kuru is believed to have originated in a remote region of the eastern highlands of Papua New Guinea. When it was first observed in 1957 it was found to be of epidemic proportions. There were almost 1000 deaths in the first five years, between 1957 and 1961. Nowadays this no longer happens as in the past. The elders at some point consumed human flesh, the rest of the community did not. The reason they did it was because someone did something to them, so they did it to get revenge; or they believed that the woman/man practiced the profession of witchcraft. They did not practice cannibalism as a ritual or because they liked it. They believed that since they had killed the person, it was best not to let the food go to waste, so they consumed it. Transmission and risk The risk of kuru is really low because cannibalism is so rare. The way this disease is transmitted is through contaminated human brains. When a person consumes the brain of a contaminated person, the disease is transmitted. The disease then works its way through the nervous system and eventually attacks the brain. Signs and Symptoms The average incubation period of this disease can range from 10 to 13 years, but incubation periods of 50 years or more have been reported. Some of the symptoms... middle of paper... the human brain. Another would be, if you work in a pathology office, try not to touch the body without gloves. Because if there is an open wound, bacteria could pass through it. Works Cited/Bibliography “Kuru: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia.” United States National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. May 13, 2014. “NINDS Kuru Information Page.” Kuru information page: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Np, nd Web. May 22, 2014Piers, Gibbon. "Eating with Cannibals | National Geographic Channel." National geographic channel. Np, 2010. Web. May 13, 2014. Wilson, Walter. and Merle A. Sande. Current diagnosis and treatment in infectious diseases. New York: McGraw Hill,2001.Chamberlin, Stacey L. and Brigham Narins. The Gale Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2005. Print.Works Cited