Kuru. 

In the mid 1950s, when the remote
parts of Papua New Guinea were first explored
by Australians and Westerners, Kuru was first
described in research (Gajdusek & Zigas 1957).

Kuru was, at that time and at least since 1941,
an endemic disease among some tribes of
New Guinea aborigines, especially among the
Fore linguistic group and neighboring tribes.

Kuru in the Fore language
means "to shiver," and along with other
signs of cerebellar ataxia, shivering is a hallmark
of the disease. The ritual consumption of dead
relatives as a symbol of respect and mourning
is the attributed route of transmission.

Soon thereafter, serial passage of Kuru and of
several other prion diseases was demonstrated
in chimpanzees and other primates

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