Kuru Overview
Learn About Kuru
Kuru is a disease of the nervous system.
Prion disease - kuru
Kuru is a very rare disease. It is caused by an infectious protein (prion) found in contaminated human brain tissue.
Kuru is found among people from New Guinea who practiced a form of cannibalism in which they ate the brains of dead people as part of a funeral ritual. This practice stopped in 1960, but cases of kuru were reported for many years afterward because the disease has a long incubation period. The incubation period is the time it takes for symptoms to appear after being exposed to the agent that causes disease.
Kuru causes brain and nervous system changes similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Similar diseases appear in cows as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also called mad cow disease.
The main risk factor for kuru is eating human brain tissue, which can contain the infectious particles.
Symptoms of kuru include:
- Arm and leg pain
- Coordination problems that become severe
- Difficulty walking
- Headache
- Swallowing difficulty
- Tremors and muscle jerks
Difficulty swallowing and being unable to feed oneself can lead to malnutrition or starvation.
The average incubation period is 10 to 13 years, but an incubation period of 50 years or longer has also been reported.
There is no known treatment for kuru.
Beata Sikorska practices in Lodz, Poland. Ms. Sikorska is rated as an Elite expert by MediFind in the treatment of Kuru. Her top areas of expertise are Kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker Syndrome, and Fatal Familial Insomnia.
Pawel Liberski practices in Lodz, Poland. Mr. Liberski is rated as an Elite expert by MediFind in the treatment of Kuru. His top areas of expertise are Kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker Syndrome, Dysembryoplastic Neuroepithelial Tumors (DNET), and Microvascular Decompression.
John Collinge practices in London, United Kingdom. Mr. Collinge is rated as an Elite expert by MediFind in the treatment of Kuru. His top areas of expertise are Kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Dementia, and Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker Syndrome.
Death usually occurs within 1 year after the first sign of symptoms.
See your health care provider if you have any walking, swallowing, or coordination problems. Kuru is extremely rare. Your provider will check for other nervous system diseases.
Published Date: November 10, 2024
Published By: Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Roy and Diana Vagelos Professor in Medicine, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, New York, NY. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
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Tee BL, Geschwind MD. Prion diseases. In: Jankovic J, Mazziotta JC, Pomeroy SL, Newman NJ, eds. Bradley and Daroff's Neurology in Clinical Practice. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 94.