Kuru (disease) - Kuru in Popular Culture

Kuru in Popular Culture

The history and epidemiology of Kuru has been the subject of both fictional and non-fictional portrayals. The 2010 documentary Kuru: The Science and the Sorcery recounts the work of Alpers, Gajdusek and their colleagues in uncovering the link between kuru and endocannibalism in the Fore and the discovery of prions as the cause of the disease. More fictionally, the Fore and kuru are a central element of the novel Dream Park by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes, which includes the explanation that kuru is transmitted via endocannibalism. A weaker reference is made in Niven's Lucifer's Hammer, which just generally alludes to the transmission of various degenerative diseases by cannibalism.

The connection between Kuru and cannibalism has been noticed by popular entertainment, often using the characteristic "shaking" or other Kuru-like symptoms as an indicator for cannibalism. For example, in the 2010 post-apocalyptic film The Book of Eli, people are asked to show their hands before doing business as trembling hands are considered a sign of cannibalism. Similarly, in the video games Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, the player encounters townsfolk who display Kuru-like symptoms after unwittingly consuming human flesh. In the 2011 video game Dead Island, Kuru is presented as the inspiration for a disease which turns its victims into cannibalistic zombies.