kuru
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Epidemiology
- kuru was once endemic among members of the Fore linguistic tribal group of the Eastern highlands of Papua New Guinea
- currently < 10 cases/year are reported
- no new cases of Kuru have been reported since cessation of ritualistic cannibalism
Clinical manifestations
- cerebellar ataxia
- associated involuntary movements
- development of mental impairment & frontal release signs occur later
- incubation period may be as long as 50 years
Management
- brain material from affected individuals transmits the disease to primates
More general terms
References
- ↑ Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 13th ed. Isselbacher et al (eds), McGraw-Hill Inc. NY, 1994, pg 2319
- ↑ Collinge J et al, Kuru in the 21st century - an acquired human prion disease with very long incubation periods. Lancet 2006, 367:2068 PMID: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16798390
- ↑ National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) NINDS Kuru Information Page https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/All-Disorders/Kuru-Information-Page