# Correction Cecil!!!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 29, 2005, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680 "2005-04-29T06:33:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![oneidkat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/898d66/32.png) [@oneidkat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oneidkat)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680/1 "2005-04-29T06:33:06Z")
A QUOTE FROM CECIL “Let’s take this step-by-step. Number one, forget about laughing sickness. It’s possible to die laughing, a topic I have addressed in the past, but that’s not the disease you allegedly get from people eating. Most likely you’re thinking of kuru, a fatal neurological ailment characterized by trembling. From 1957 to 1977 kuru was epidemic among certain New Guinea tribes and was suspected of being contracted by eating human flesh. But cannibalism had been outlawed long before.” Hey Cecil… Cannibalism in the ares you speak of was out lawed in 1950 not much sooner as you stated… Also the epidemic your talking about was between 1920 and 1960 and was Kuru as stated by you, it was ONLY found among the FORE people and relatives of them in PNG… A characteristic of kuru IS laughing despite your contridictions and HELLO Mr Talk-Alot-But-Know-Little it was known as THE LAUGHING SICKNESS!! It costs nothing to ensure you have the correct facts so i suggest you take advantage of that freedom in future! :wally ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680/2 "2005-04-29T06:57:39Z")
Cites for all your assertations, including Cecils words, please? Provide some reputable links with the information you have imparted. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680/3 "2005-04-29T08:34:41Z")
The OP’s quote came from here: [Is there realy such a thing as cannibalism?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_054.html) ---
**Author:** ![oneidkat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/898d66/32.png) [@oneidkat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oneidkat)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680/4 "2005-04-29T09:09:29Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > Cites for all your assertations, including Cecils words, please? Provide some reputable links with the information you have imparted. Ohhhh how I love when someone asks for proof… :rolleyes: I myself do exactly the same when I think there has been a mistake! not so in this case though love because I NEVER open a can of worms without checking ALL relevent info here is the link to Cecil’s comments that I felt the need to correct [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_054.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_054.html) Now seeing as we’re now entering a more informed debate lets take a look at a few things Cecil said, he suggested that “_Many now believe, for instance, that New Guinea natives are not cannibals and that kuru is spread by contact with corpses during funeral preparations_” and according to any information I have had the chance to read, those who contract KURU fall into 2 classes of people… (1) cannibals, particularly in the central New Guinea highlands and (2) those who submit to transplant surgery. Another area of debate regarding cannibalism is whether it may spread infectious diseases. Animal studies have suggested that cannibals may be at greater risk for being infected by parasites and diseases from members of their own species than from other prey. One famous study associated human cannibalism with the spread of a fatal viral disease called Kuru in highland New Guinea. \*\*Carlton Gadjusek \*\* won the \*\*Nobel Prize in medicine \*\* for discovering a new category of viruses called slow viruses, which include Kuru and Creutzfeldt-Jakob (Mad Cow) disease. Part of Gadjusek’s research was based on epidemiological research he did with anthropologists that _linked the spread of a Kuru disease to the practice of funerary cannibalism_. Beth Colkin who wrote the book **Consuming Grief: Compassionate Cannibalism in an Amazonian Society** [University of Texas Press] said “_William Arens made a valuable contribution in pointing out problems in historical accounts of cannibalism and in sensitizing us to the dangers of negative stereotypes of indigenous people as cannibals_,” Conklin says. “_I have great respect for his work in that regard. But it’s going too far to claim that cannibalism never existed at all, because there is substantial evidence that consuming human body parts has been an accepted practice in a number of societies in Europe, South America and elsewhere._” And as for the information that i used to correct Cecil I read quite a few sites but you want something CLASSY perhaps, so will the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC website be considered REPUTABLE??? If so please do go here [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/04/0410\_030410\_cannibal.html](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/04/0410_030410_cannibal.html) I’ll even quote the information you’re after!!! "Mead and colleagues began their investigation by looking at the Fore, an isolated indigenous people who live in the mountains of Papua New Guinea. The Fore, according to oral history, had a custom of consuming their dead at mortuary feasts. The tradition is believed to have begun at the end of the 19th century and persisted until **Western settlers abolished the practice in the 1950s**. Men ate the best meat, the muscle, while women and children munched the brain. From approximately \*\*1920 through the 1960s \*\* an epidemic of the prion disease kuru swept through the Fore, killing upwards of 200 people a year. One **symptom of infection was uncontrollable laughter** , which gave the affliction the nickname “laughing disease.” Anyway i do hope I have answered your questions in a manner you approve of… Thank you in advance for reading my post. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680/5 "2005-04-29T20:06:29Z")
Cecil’s words in the original column aren’t totally clear to me - I wouldn’t necessarily infer that he was denying that laughter can be a symptom of kuru. But thank you for your informative post, **oneidkat**. Also, the column about dying from laughter that Cecil refers to in his cannibalism column is this one: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_207.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_207.html) ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680/6 "2005-04-29T21:07:14Z")
> [@oneidkat](#): > > Ohhhh how I love when someone asks for proof… :rolleyes: I myself do exactly the same when I think there has been a mistake! not so in this case though love because I NEVER open a can of worms without checking ALL relevent info > > \ > > Anyway i do hope I have answered your questions in a manner you approve of… Thank you in advance for reading my post. 😃 Take the time to hang out here a little more to figure out the “culture”. From the “rolleyes” you gave, I’d infer that you’re not aware of the fact that you need to back up your assertations with proof, and if you are going to reference something else from this board, be it from **Cecil** , or another poster, you need to link to the tread or post in question. Not grouching at you, just letting you know how we do things here. For goodness sake, people ask for cites in the BBQ Pit. Often for such reasons as the OP being so incensed they forgot to link to the thread they were speaking of. The stated purpose of this message board is “To fight ignorance.” If you’re going to refute someone, and make many statements of fact, you’re going to need to link proof of what you say. Not only is this good for keeping people who don’t konw as much as you do on the topic up to speed, but it’s courteous too, so people can see your sources of information. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680/7 "2005-04-29T21:17:35Z")
Cecil doesn’t USE unecessary CAPITALIZATION. That already PUTS him above THE threadstarter, if I may say SO. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680/8 "2005-04-29T21:46:11Z")
Welcome to SDMB. Accurate information is always a good thing, but there’s really no need to assume an adversarial position in presenting it. Hang around and acquaint yourself with the routines here. It’s worth it! ---
**Author:** ![monkeyfist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9c0ed/32.png) [@monkeyfist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monkeyfist)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680/9 "2005-04-29T22:10:02Z")
Just to make clear the order of events: Cecil’s post that the OP is referring to is from 26-Feb-2001. The National Geographic article that the OP cites is from April 10, 2003. It’s definitely possible that some of the info your citing was not possible in 2001. With that in mind, I would think a friendlier, “hey, new facts about that laughing disease item have come up…” would be more in line. But hey, if you WANT people to thank you’re obnoxious… Further, there is a distinct difference between _outlawing_ something and _abolishing_ it. I don’t claim to know the date of the legal ban on cannibalism, but your cite doesn’t actually state it either. ---
**Author:** ![oneidkat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/898d66/32.png) [@oneidkat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oneidkat)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680/10 "2005-05-01T05:12:30Z")
> [@monkeyfist](#): > > Just to make clear the order of events: > > Cecil’s post that the OP is referring to is from 26-Feb-2001. > The National Geographic article that the OP cites is from April 10, 2003. > > It’s definitely possible that some of the info your citing was not possible in 2001. With that in mind, I would think a friendlier, “hey, new facts about that laughing disease item have come up…” would be more in line. But hey, if you WANT people to thank you’re obnoxious… > > Further, there is a distinct difference between _outlawing_ something and _abolishing_ it. I don’t claim to know the date of the legal ban on cannibalism, but your cite doesn’t actually state it either. :smack: Its definately possible that in choosing a more recent artical I did my post an injustice. I located many articals, very few were recent, and the National Geographic contained all relevent info and was not very old. Here are some other links to articals written in 2001 and prior with mentions of Kuru being known as the Laughing Sickness, there were dozens but I didn’t want to post lots of links, I hope these will do. [http://www.warmwell.com/purdeyseac.html](http://www.warmwell.com/purdeyseac.html) [http://www.nursingceu.com/NCEU/courses/forensics2/](http://www.nursingceu.com/NCEU/courses/forensics2/) Just with regard to your commenting on the distint difefrence between outlawing & abolishing something, To outlaw something means to declair something illegal… Abolition is the act of formally destroying something through legal means, either by making it illegal, or simply no longer allowing it to exist in any form. To reference that info just go to Google and type Define:outlaw/abolish… Also I am afraid I am not able to locate a date of the actual abolition(sorry for that I thought the year would suffice) however as started in my post and in the National Geographic artical it was in 1950, you can google up several other pages citing the same info. I do appoligise for my attitude to all of you who brought it up… My bad, big vent and the post came out all wrong… I am an obnoxious little so & so and I do take your critisisms seriously. Zabali Clawbone, thanks for the message about the rolling of eyes, I posted that emoticon right beside where I stated I myself would have asked for documentation as a poke at my idiocy for not posting links, sorry if it seemed directed at you. Bryan Ekers, I used catitalization on relevent information assuming it would be correct to draw attention to those facts. Seems it was a mistake and makes me a lowly poster, thank you for doing the same and making me feel a little less retarded. No sarcasm intended. ---
**Author:** ![oneidkat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/898d66/32.png) [@oneidkat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oneidkat)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680/11 "2005-05-01T05:15:02Z")
For some reason a stray smilie popped up in the post… The sentance should have said define : outlaw/abolish ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680/12 "2005-05-02T19:10:35Z")
The claim has been made that evidence of cannibalism in relation to kuru was fabricated. Cite: G. Kolata, _Science_ 232, 1497 (1986). I don’t think that the relationship beween “slow viruses” and kuru (or some other diseases said to be caused by same) has been uncontraversially established at this point. ---
**Author:** ![oneidkat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/898d66/32.png) [@oneidkat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oneidkat)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680/13 "2005-05-02T22:39:03Z")
> [@Crandolph](#): > > The claim has been made that evidence of cannibalism in relation to kuru was fabricated. > > Cite: G. Kolata, _Science_ 232, 1497 (1986). > > I don’t think that the relationship beween “slow viruses” and kuru (or some other diseases said to be caused by same) has been uncontraversially established at this point. I am not quite sute what you mean by that post… Could you elaborate? I shall try to answer as best I can given my understandng of your post. I think I have located your reference… Is this is? “Kuru” was a fabricated disease concocted to support the “Slow Virus” theory of Carlton Gadjusek. Anthropologists who had studied the same New Guinea tribes as Dr. Gadjusek openly contested his claims of cannibalism and brain disease, as they had lived among these tribes and witnessed no unusual disease called Kuru or any Cannibalism (Science 1986; 232: 1497-1500). That statement was based on the fact that Gadjusek had not ruled out all possible causes on the transmission of the disease, not that in said disease was 'pretend"… There are some claims that Kur was actually invented by the Japanese… Covert Testing of Other Disease Agents Mad Cow Disease/Kuru/CJD in the Fore Tribe Before and during World War II, at the infamous Camp 731 in Manchuria, the Japanese military contaminated prisoners of war with certain disease agents. They also established a research camp in New Guinea in 1942. There they experimented upon the Fore Indian tribe and inoculated them with a minced-up version of the brains of diseased sheep containing the visna virus which causes “mad cow disease” or Creutzfeldt Jakob disease. About five or six years later, after the Japanese had been driven out, the poor people of the Fore tribe developed what they called kuru, which was their word for “wasting”, and they began to shake, lose their appetites and die. The autopsies revealed that their brains had literally turned to mush. They had contracted “mad cow disease” from the Japanese experiments. When World War II ended, DR Ishii Shiro – the medical doctor who was commissioned as a General in the Japanese Army so he could take command of Japan’s biological warfare development, testing and deployment – was captured. He was given the choice of a job with the United States Army or execution as a war criminal. Not surprisingly, DR Ishii Shiro chose to work with the US military to demonstrate how the Japanese had created mad cow disease in the Fore Indian tribe. In 1957, when the disease was beginning to blossom in full among the Fore people, DR Carleton Gajdusek of the US National Institutes of Health headed to New Guinea to determine how the minced-up brains of the visna-infected sheep affected them. He spent a couple of years there, studying the Fore people, and wrote an extensive report. He won the Nobel Prize for “discovering” kuru disease in the Fore tribe. see [Are the COVID Jabs Responsible for Rising Mortality Trends?](http://www.mercola.com/2001/sep/8/mycoplasma.htm) Most information regarding the pathogen of Kuru is predominantly in relation to Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease. Now according to the infomation i was able to search CJD and Kuru are considered to be transmitable diseases, this has been shown by evperiments involving injecting subjects with affected brains. What is a subject of debate is the transmissible agent. here is the link [http://www.icomm.ca/geneinfo/cjd.htm](http://www.icomm.ca/geneinfo/cjd.htm) containing this information Virus Or Prion ``` Initially, the agent was thought to be a slow virus due to the unusually long incubation period, which can be up to forty years, between the time of exposure to the pathogen and the onset of symptoms. Further research, however, has indicated that this agent differs significantly from viruses and other conventional agents. Whereas viruses and other known infectious agents contain nucleic acids which house a cell's genetic material, researchers have been unable to identify any nucleic acids in the CJD agent. Additionally, the chemical and physical procedures that inactivate most viruses have proved ineffective in decreasing the infectivity of the CJD pathogen. In contrast, the procedures that degrade protein have been found to inactivate the pathogen. Accordingly, a new theory regarding the transmissible agent has emerged and gained widespread acceptability. This theory holds that the transmissible agent is neither a virus nor other previously known infectious agent, but rather an unconventional agent consisting of protein. This newly-discovered pathogen is called a "prion", short for " proteinaceous infectious particle". Prions are thought to transform normal, benign protein molecules into infectious, deadly ones by altering the shape of the healthy molecules to the dangerous conformation. This transformation then induces a chain reaction to alter the shape of the other benign protein molecules into the deadly form. ``` Other Diseases Caused By Similar Agents ``` CJD falls within a category of related human and animal diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (“TSE’s”), all of which appear to involve the abnormal prion protein and leave their victims with the characterisitic sponge-like holes in the infected brains. In addition to CJD, the suspected human prion diseases include kuru, Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker disease and fatal familial insomnia. Kuru has been found only among the Fore tribe in Papua New Guinea and has been virtually eliminated since the cessation of the ritual handling and eating of the brains of deceased relatives. The disease is characterized by progressive problems with coordination which are typically followed by dementia. Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker disease and fatal familial insomnia are predominantly hereditary disorders with the former usually marked by progressive coordination and movement problems and the latter evidenced by sleeping problems preceding dementia. The suspected prion diseases occurring in animals consist of: scrapie in sheep and goats; transmissible mink encephalopathy; chronic wasting disease of mule deer and elk; feline spongiform encephalopathy; and, bovine spongiform encephalopathy ("BSE"), also known as "mad cow disease". TSE’s have also been found in some exotic zoo animals. ``` There was never a relationship between kuru or any other diease as stated by you as they were actually believed to be slow diseases… Maybe the relationship was “self”… Anyway science has gone on to show they are not slow diseases and are not classified as prions ---
**Author:** ![oneidkat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/898d66/32.png) [@oneidkat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oneidkat)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680/14 "2005-05-03T01:41:49Z")
just wish to make a quick correction… the last line in my post has a typo… the las line should read:- "Anyway science has gone on to show they are not slow diseases and are now classified as prions ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680/15 "2005-05-03T01:52:33Z")
I don’t know how (or if) to reply to all of that, but: There is [debate](http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2843/is_n1_v22/ai_20577441) about cannibalism in that (and all) societies. And there is [debate](http://www.healtoronto.com/slowvirus.html) over the ability of kuru to be transmitted via brain munching. Not saying I have the answers to these, but there are some pretty bright people with a lot of experience asking the Qs and I think we just don’t know yet on either count. ---
**Author:** ![oneidkat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/898d66/32.png) [@oneidkat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oneidkat)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680/16 "2005-05-03T05:47:10Z")
a) It in only found in the Fore area of Okapa b) It is one-hundred-percent fatal. c) 80% of all known cases have been women and children. d) The entire process of dying is painless with death actually resulting to starvation. The people of the Fore/Okapa area eat their relatives only and at the point of death - so everything is still nice and warm! Then, instead of eating the meat, the women and children eat the viscera and brains. The men rarely participate at all and, should they do so, they prefer the meat. They believe the dead relative could live on in their bodies in this way. I am not suggesting it is practiced any longer but I have no doubt that it did occur… Their own verbal history tells of funerary cannibalism but I will have to get back to you on the actual transmision, it is true that as you say it is still widely debated as to the hows and whys but again there are many illnesses in that basket. The one common link that has been proven is the act of cannibalism… ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680/17 "2005-05-03T18:00:06Z")
From my second link, above: > [@](#): > > In the meantime another crucial, if embarrassing, bit of information has emerged as a challenge to Gajdusek’s virus-kuru hypothesis. The published transcript of his Nobel acceptance speech, in a 1977 issue of Science magazine, included a photo ostensibly showing New Guinea natives eating their cannibalistic meal. The photo is not very clear. When colleagues asked Gajdusek if the photo truly showed cannibalism, he admitted the meal was merely roast pork. According to Science, “He never publishes actual pictures of cannibalism, he says, because they are ‘too offensive.’” Unconvinced, anthropologist Lyle Steadman of Arizona State University has investigated and directly challenged Gajdusek, claiming “there is no evidence of cannibalism in New Guinea.” Steadman, who spent two years doing fieldwork in New Guinea, noted that he often heard tales of cannibalism but when he probed, the evidence evaporated. > > Gajdusek, angered by the hint of malfeasance, has insisted that “he has actual photographs of cannibalism, but he would never publish them because they ‘so offend the relatives of the people who used to do it.’” This statement contradicts his earlier claims that the tribesman proudly ate their dead relatives out of respect, quitting the practice only in deference to outside pressure from government authorities. For evidence of cannibalism, Gajdusek also cited Australian arrests of tribesmen for the alleged crime - which, as it turned out, were based on hearsay accusations. So perhaps New Guinea natives stand falsely accused of ritual cannibalism. > > In addition, few people outside of Gajdusek’s original research team have ever personally witnessed kuru victims. This means we also depend on his own descriptions and statistics for our knowledge of the disease itself, particularly since he claims cannibalism and kuru both ceased to exist within a few years after his 1957 trip. Phantom viruses, transmitted through phantom cannibalism, cause phantom disease. > > Yet Gajdusek has reshaped the thinking of an entire generation of biologists, his seductive message of slow viruses having landed on eager ears. He and the virus hunters inspired by him have built careers chasing viruses and attributing them to latent periods in order to connect them to noninfectious diseases. ---
**Author:** ![oneidkat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/898d66/32.png) [@oneidkat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oneidkat)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680/18 "2005-05-03T23:47:25Z")
It seems that CJD and Kuru are one and the same according to information i have located… Altho the myth of kuru being a seperate disease remains… > [@](#): > > CJD: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease—This is the human form of the same disease. In New Guinea, the nationals called it Kuru; in the Western world, it is called CJD. taken from [http://www.pathlights.com/onlinebooks/MC1.htm](http://www.pathlights.com/onlinebooks/MC1.htm) ---
**Author:** ![oneidkat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/898d66/32.png) [@oneidkat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oneidkat)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680/19 "2005-05-04T00:13:23Z")
Causes, incidence, and risk factors: Kuru is an extremely rare prion disease. It is almost exclusively found among people from New Guinea, who practiced a form of cannibalism in which the brains of dead relatives were eaten as part of a funeral ritual. Kuru causes neurodegenerative changes similar to another prion disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which occurs sporadically around the world and for which risk factors are unknown. taken from [here](http://drkoop.com/ency/93/001379.html) Also I have to correct a post I made in saying Kuru and CJD are one and the same, actually they are not, they are almost identical but Kuru is slightly different and has only ever been found in the Fore people of PNG I came across this artical at a website that appears to promote getting yourself a “fun disease”… Its really just a bit of fun but again factually interesting… just go to this [page](http://www.scalzi.com/whatever/002942.html) > [@](#): > > What’s the connection between BSE and CJD? > > Scrapie, BSE, Kuru and CJD are all spongiform encephalopathies capable of jumping from one species to another. For example, a sheep injected with tissue from a person suffering from CJD will die of scrapie. It seems that scrapie in sheep, BSE in cattle and CJD in humans are one and the same disease. The latest evidence shows that certainly BSE and CJD are the same. We have known for years that humans can catch a form of BSE by eating infected food - that’s clear from studies of the Fore tribe of Papua New Guinea. Cannibalism, especially amongst women hoping to increase their fertility, was common until very recently. In some villages, up to 80 per cent of these women died from a spongiform disease called kuru. It was first thought that kuru was inherited genetically but it has now been shown that it is an infection caused by eating the brains of dead relatives. > > What we now have in Britain is essentially a new form of kuru which is showing similar symptoms - loss of co-ordination, memory loss and slurred speech eventually developing into muscle twitching, stumbling and falling over. Once the symptoms show themselves they advance rapidly and over a period of weeks the person becomes depressed, confused and unaware, unable to read or recognise even close relatives. > > Towards the end, the patient is unconscious and often has fits or jerking spasms, is doubly incontinent, blind, deaf and speechless. Death usually comes about through lung or other infections. > > When a post mortem is carried out, extreme care has to be taken because the disease is highly infectious. Pathologist wear a mask, goggles, gloves, boots and a plastic apron and any instruments have to be thoroughly sterilised. For example, the silver needles used for the EEG (brain examination) must be treated with high pressure steam for prolonged periods of time or put through six successive heat cycles in a sterilizer. Even then there is no guarantee of destroying the infection. If contaminated instruments are used on another patient, the disease can, and indeed has been, transferred. > > CJD is so feared by some people in the medical profession that they have refused to perform post mortems where CJD is suspected. Some hospitals have even refused to admit patients suffering from it. > I located this info [here](http://www.viva.org.uk/guides/hownowmadcow.htm) . ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680/20 "2005-05-04T00:37:28Z")
CJD appears to happen primarily in Westerners who have already had brain surgery. That’s not a particularly successful transmission route for a specific virus. One of my links noted that “most,” not all, of the kuru victims were Fore. In any event, Gajdusek was never able to locate a virus and was only able to cause deterioration in monkey brains by drilling holes in their heads and introducing a brain slurry. Sounds like the sort of thing that could cause brain damage without needing an exotic ‘slow virus.’ He apparently wasn’t able to transmit neurological damage by feeding monkeys infected (presumably, because he didn’t have a virus) tissue. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correction-cecil/301680.md?page=2)