Kuru is an incurable neurological disorder mainly found in patients near the Papua New Guinea region. The term “kuru” is local vernacular meaning, to shake. Symptoms include difficulty walking, swallowing and chewing, with loss of coordination and muscle twitching. It is locally known as laughing sickness because patients often burst into uncontrollable laughter. Transmission of this disease is directly related to ritualistic cannibalism. The disease has killed approximately 1,000 people in the region and there is currently no treatment.
