Kuru

Kuru, a rare neurodegenerative disease, is the result of the introduction of "prions", in the body. This disease has only been seen in the Fore people of New Guinea and appears to be the result of funerary cannibalism that was practiced until the 1960s. It was most often seen in women and children and was the result of ingesting the brain tissues of deceased family members. The disease has a long (up to 50 years) incubation period and the last known victim of this disease died in 2005.