Abstract
The widespread exposure of the UK population to bovine spongiform encephalopathy prions, and the potential consequences for public health, led to a renewed interest in kuru, the principal example of epidemic human prion disease. Kuru research in Papua New Guinea was expanded to study the range of incubation periods possible in human prion infection, to investigate maternal and other possible natural routes of transmission, to characterize genetic susceptibility and resistance factors and to gain insights into the peripheral pathogenesis of orally acquired prion disease in humans. Although now essentially over, the kuru epidemic continues to provide important lessons.
Highlights
The widespread exposure of the UK population to bovine spongiform encephalopathy prions, and the potential consequences for public health, led to a renewed interest in kuru, the principal example of epidemic human prion disease
Kuru research in Papua New Guinea was expanded to study the range of incubation periods possible in human prion infection, to investigate maternal and other possible natural routes of transmission, to characterize genetic susceptibility and resistance factors and to gain insights into the peripheral pathogenesis of orally acquired prion disease in humans
The first mutations in the prion protein gene had been identified in 1988–1989 and the evidence suggested that these were causal for familial forms of spongiform encephalopathy and could be used in their definitive diagnosis (Owen et al 1989; Collinge et al 1989, 1990; Hsiao et al 1989)
Summary
The widespread exposure of the UK population to bovine spongiform encephalopathy prions, and the potential consequences for public health, led to a renewed interest in kuru, the principal example of epidemic human prion disease.
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