Kuru: unravelling the mystery disease that left entire Papua New Guinean villages without women

  • 📰 GuardianAus
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 53 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 25%
  • Publisher: 98%

Australia Headlines News

Australia Latest News,Australia Headlines

New genetic analysis sheds light on the epidemic caused by the practice of mortuary feasting in the Eastern Highlands of PNG mid last century

– the word for shivering – as people lost control of their limbs and bodily functions before a tremor set in preceding death.

Because the body was broken up and eaten in a ritualistic way according to spiritual beliefs, with certain tissues going to certain kin, women and children were worst affected by the disease – because they were apportioned the brain and spinal cord where prions are concentrated. The new genetic analysis found no evidence either for less overall migration into areas where kuru was most severe, or a stop to the practice of patrilocality, where a bride moves to live closer to her husband’s family.

Field staff from the affected and neighbouring populations were recruited by the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research to collect genetic samples through long-term community participation, which were then analysed by researchers in London and Copenhagen.

Dr Irene Gallago Romero, a human genomics and evolution researcher at St Vincent’s Institute for Medical Research said the question of whether the migration of women was drastic enough to change the genetic makeup of traditionally insular communities was left unanswered.

Source: Healthcare Press (healthcarepress.net)

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 1. in AU

Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Weapons in Papua New Guinea's Highlands Fuel MassacresDecades ago on battlefields in Papua New Guinea's highlands, men warred with bows, arrows and bush knives with minimal casualties. Over the years, this sacred practice has morphed into outright warfare between men wielding powerful firearms. The death toll from a massacre two weeks ago now sits at 69 people, most from the same tribe who were gunned down in an ambush. In the wake of what's possibly PNG's worst massacre since the Bougainville conflict, attention has turned to the stacks of illegal firearms and ammunition in the country's highlands.
Source: abcnews - 🏆 5. / 83 Read more »

As it happened: Labor plans new immigration defence; TikTok faces new calls for banThe federal government will move to block the release of more immigration detainees by mounting a new defence in the High Court.
Source: brisbanetimes - 🏆 13. / 67 Read more »

As it happened: Labor plans new immigration defence; TikTok faces new calls for banThe federal government will move to block the release of more immigration detainees by mounting a new defence in the High Court.
Source: smh - 🏆 6. / 80 Read more »

As it happened: Labor plans new immigration defence; TikTok faces new calls for banThe federal government will move to block the release of more immigration detainees by mounting a new defence in the High Court.
Source: theage - 🏆 8. / 77 Read more »

Australia news LIVE: Labor plans new immigration defence; TikTok faces new calls for banThe federal government will move to block the release of more immigration detainees by mounting a new defence in the High Court.
Source: smh - 🏆 6. / 80 Read more »

Australia news LIVE: Labor plans new immigration defence; TikTok faces new calls for banThe federal government will move to block the release of more immigration detainees by mounting a new defence in the High Court.
Source: theage - 🏆 8. / 77 Read more »