Kuru: The Science and the Sorcery

Name: Kuru: The Science and the Sorcery
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2010-12-01
Duration: 52 min
Rating: 8
Cast: Judy Davis, Michael Alpers, Russ Harris, Pako Ombeya

8.0 (1)2010-12-0152m

Documentary

Overview

Australian scientist Michael Alpers dedicated over 50 years to researching Kuru, an obscure and incurable brain disease unique to the Fore people of New Guinea. Kuru was once thought to be a psychosomatic illness, an infection, a genetic disorder, even a sorcerer's curse, but Alpers' findings pointed to cannibalism as the culprit. Yet a recent discovery has proven to be even more disturbing: the malady is linked to mad cow disease and its human equivalent, variant CJD. With a decades-long incubation period, could a larger outbreak be on its way?