Kuru (disease)

Kuru
Kuru
Classification and external resources
ICD-10	A81.8
ICD-9	046.0
DiseasesDB	31861
MedlinePlus	001379
eMedicine	med/1248
MeSH	D007729

Kuru is a disease caused by cannibalism, formerly thought to be caused by specifically eating human brains, but is actually caused by eating any human meat. It is also known as the "laughing sickness" due to the pathologic bursts of laughter that the patient displays.

Kuru was found in Papua New Guinea, among members of the Fore tribe.[1] The word kuru means "trembling with fear" in the Fore language.

References

Lindenbaum S (November 2008). "Review. Understanding kuru: the contribution of anthropology and medicine". Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci. 363 (1510): 3715–20. doi:10.1098/rstb.2008.0072. PMC 2735506. PMID 18849287.

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[1] Lindenbaum S (November 2008). "Review. Understanding kuru: the contribution of anthropology and medicine". Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci. 363 (1510): 3715–20. doi:10.1098/rstb.2008.0072. PMC 2735506. PMID 18849287.