Kuru (Noun)
Meaning
A progressive disease of the central nervous system marked by increasing lack of coordination and advancing to paralysis and death within a year of the appearance of symptoms; thought to have been transmitted by cannibalistic consumption of diseased brain tissue since the disease virtually disappeared when cannibalism was abandoned.
Classification
Nouns denoting natural processes.
Examples
- The Fore people of Papua New Guinea were afflicted with kuru, a disease that had been present in the population for generations.
- Kuru was a devastating illness that caused loss of coordination, followed by paralysis and eventual death.
- The missionary and scientists were determined to find the cause of kuru, which had been killing the local population at an alarming rate.
- After studying the locals' customs and traditions, it was discovered that kuru was transmitted through the practice of cannibalism.
- When cannibalism was stopped, the incidence of kuru in the community drastically decreased, proving the connection between the two.