Kuru

Kuru is a disease caused by prions. It was found among women and children in Papua New Guinea, presumably caused by cannibalism. It is related to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and, in animals, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy ("Mad Cow Disease").

Kuru was first studied by the Nobel Prize winner Carleton Gajdusek. As with all prion diseases tt is always fatal, with the duration of illness lasting 3 to 12 months from the diagnosis of the first symptons to death.